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ICA Thwarts Lady's Clandestine Departure
On 8 February 2007 at about 0030hrs, two Malaysia-registered trailers departing Singapore through Woodlands Checkpoint were singled out by ICA officers for routine checks. In the course of the checks, a female People’s Republic of China (PRC) national was found hiding among boxes of sanitary wares in one of the trailers. While nothing incriminating was found in the trailer of the first driver, he was alleged by the driver of the second trailer as the mastermind who had arranged for the female PRC to be illegally conveyed out of Singapore.
2 Preliminary investigations revealed that the female PRC was previously convicted of illegal entry into Singapore. She claimed to have paid about $1,000 to a fellow PRC lady to arrange for her to depart Singapore illegally, with another $2,000 payable after she had reached China successfully.
3 The drivers of the trailers, male Malaysian Indians aged 33 and 40, admitted to abetting the illegal departure of the PRC lady. They claimed to have been paid $100 and $200 respectively. The three subjects were arrested by ICA officers and brought back for further investigations. The two trailers were also detained.
4 ICA takes a serious view of attempts by foreigners to overstay, enter or depart Singapore illegally. Under the Immigration Act (Cap 133), the penalties for overstaying or illegal entry are a jail term of up to six months plus a minimum of three strokes of the cane, while the penalties for illegal departure is a fine of up to $2, 000, a jail term of up to six months, or both.
5 We would also like to remind the public that it is an offence to offer shelter and employment to immigration offenders. Homeowners can make use of ICA’s online checking system, called “VERIFI” (or Verification of Foreigner Immigration Status) to verify the immigration passes of their prospective tenants. VERIFI can be accessed through ICA’s internet website: http://www.ica.gov.sg and allows users to receive an instantaneous reply on the validity of the immigration passes presented to them. Similarly, MOM has a system to allow the checking on the validity of work passes at its website: http://www.mom.gov.sg. Everyone has a part to play in keeping Singapore safe and secure. We urge members of public with information regarding immigration offenders to call ICA at Tel: 1800-391 6150 or contact the Police.
2 Preliminary investigations revealed that the female PRC was previously convicted of illegal entry into Singapore. She claimed to have paid about $1,000 to a fellow PRC lady to arrange for her to depart Singapore illegally, with another $2,000 payable after she had reached China successfully.
3 The drivers of the trailers, male Malaysian Indians aged 33 and 40, admitted to abetting the illegal departure of the PRC lady. They claimed to have been paid $100 and $200 respectively. The three subjects were arrested by ICA officers and brought back for further investigations. The two trailers were also detained.
4 ICA takes a serious view of attempts by foreigners to overstay, enter or depart Singapore illegally. Under the Immigration Act (Cap 133), the penalties for overstaying or illegal entry are a jail term of up to six months plus a minimum of three strokes of the cane, while the penalties for illegal departure is a fine of up to $2, 000, a jail term of up to six months, or both.
5 We would also like to remind the public that it is an offence to offer shelter and employment to immigration offenders. Homeowners can make use of ICA’s online checking system, called “VERIFI” (or Verification of Foreigner Immigration Status) to verify the immigration passes of their prospective tenants. VERIFI can be accessed through ICA’s internet website: http://www.ica.gov.sg and allows users to receive an instantaneous reply on the validity of the immigration passes presented to them. Similarly, MOM has a system to allow the checking on the validity of work passes at its website: http://www.mom.gov.sg. Everyone has a part to play in keeping Singapore safe and secure. We urge members of public with information regarding immigration offenders to call ICA at Tel: 1800-391 6150 or contact the Police.