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45 Immigration Offenders Caught By ICA Officers
Most Singaporeans would have called it a day and sleeping peacefully in their beds at 0230 hours. Not so for the immigration offenders (IOs) in this country. No IO can sleep peacefully when they know that ICA officers who are fiercely dedicated to the cause of weeding out IOs are hot on their heels. A total of 45 IOs were caught by ICA officers during an operation in Geylang in the early hours on 4 April 2006.
2 Enforcement officers from ICA first went up to the roof top of the three-storey apartment and stormed through the door. This caught many of the IOs sleeping on the roof top by surprise. The IOs did not have much time to react and were immediately arrested. Many of the IOs were sleeping on cloths placed on the floor with no shelter over their heads on the rooftop. There were some rooms on the same level which were occupied by IOs too. The IOs found in these dirty and messy rooms were also sleeping on the floor.
3 At around the same time, another team of ICA officers were conducting checks in the vicinity of the apartment. The checks resulted in the arrest of another 15 IOs. In all, a total of 45 IOs were arrested. The IOs arrested were male nationals from India. Their ages range from 21 to 54 years old. Preliminary investigations showed that they were working as general workers earning about $25 daily.
4 ICA takes a serious view of attempts by foreigners to overstay or enter 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.
5 ICA 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 Enforcement officers from ICA first went up to the roof top of the three-storey apartment and stormed through the door. This caught many of the IOs sleeping on the roof top by surprise. The IOs did not have much time to react and were immediately arrested. Many of the IOs were sleeping on cloths placed on the floor with no shelter over their heads on the rooftop. There were some rooms on the same level which were occupied by IOs too. The IOs found in these dirty and messy rooms were also sleeping on the floor.
3 At around the same time, another team of ICA officers were conducting checks in the vicinity of the apartment. The checks resulted in the arrest of another 15 IOs. In all, a total of 45 IOs were arrested. The IOs arrested were male nationals from India. Their ages range from 21 to 54 years old. Preliminary investigations showed that they were working as general workers earning about $25 daily.
4 ICA takes a serious view of attempts by foreigners to overstay or enter 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.
5 ICA 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.