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24 Immigration Offenders and 2 Harbourers Arrested by ICA in Pre-dawn Operation
In a pre-dawn operation conducted on 10 Nov 2005, officers from the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) arrested a total of 24 Immigration Offenders (IOs) hiding in four HDB flats in Ang Mo Kio and Hougang. Two Singaporeans, suspected to be the house owners, were also arrested.
2 Enforcement officers from ICA simultaneously raided all the four HDB flats. An IO had tried to jump out of the second-story flat through the kitchen window, but gave up the idea when he realised that ICA officers had already positioned themselves on the ground floor to prevent anyone from escaping. The rest of the IOs did not try to escape or put up a struggle. They knew that it was game over for them and sat on their beds waiting for our officers to apprehend them.
3 The 24 IOs arrested were nationals of PRC (6 of them), Nepal (7), India (8) and Bangladesh (3). They were all males and their ages ranged from 19 to 42 years old. The two Singaporeans house owners arrested were females and aged 45 and 46.
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.
END OF NEWS RELEASE
Immigration & Checkpoints Authority
10 Nov 2005
2 Enforcement officers from ICA simultaneously raided all the four HDB flats. An IO had tried to jump out of the second-story flat through the kitchen window, but gave up the idea when he realised that ICA officers had already positioned themselves on the ground floor to prevent anyone from escaping. The rest of the IOs did not try to escape or put up a struggle. They knew that it was game over for them and sat on their beds waiting for our officers to apprehend them.
3 The 24 IOs arrested were nationals of PRC (6 of them), Nepal (7), India (8) and Bangladesh (3). They were all males and their ages ranged from 19 to 42 years old. The two Singaporeans house owners arrested were females and aged 45 and 46.
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.
END OF NEWS RELEASE
Immigration & Checkpoints Authority
10 Nov 2005