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A Double Bill From ICA
I) Malaysian and His Speakers Cornered
A Malaysian man was arrested last night at Woodlands checkpoint when ICA officers found contraband cigarettes hidden in and under the speakers in his car. On 6 April 05 at about 1950 hours, our officers from the Task Force Team stopped a Malaysian registered car coming into Singapore through Woodlands checkpoint for a routine check.
2 During the check, our officers discovered some cartons of contraband cigarettes hidden under the speakers in the car boot. Our ICA officers interviewed the 31-year-old Malaysian driver who claimed that the cartons found were the only cartons of contraband cigarettes in his car. He looked very nervous and his eyes shifted rapidly when he answered our officers. Finding his behaviour suspicious, our officers continued their search and discovered more cartons of contraband cigarettes hidden inside the speakers of the car. The driver was immediately placed under arrest and the vehicle seized.
3 A total of 22 cartons of 200 sticks of contraband cigarettes were found in the car. The total amount of customs duties and Goods & Services Tax involved is estimated to be S$1,550 and S$100 respectively. The case has been referred to Singapore Customs for further investigation. If found guilty, the offenders could be fined up to a maximum of 20 times the amount of customs duties and Goods & Services Tax involved.
II) Runner Stopped in His Tracks
4 In the eastern part of sunny Singapore, things were not looking too bright for a People's Republic of China (PRC) national caught with forged documents in his possession. On 6 April 05, ICA officers laid an ambush in the vicinity of Chai Chee for the male PRC national suspected to be a runner of a foreign-based forged card syndicate. The syndicate is believed to be producing and selling forged S Passes (a category of work pass introduced by the Ministry of Manpower since July 04) to immigration offenders in Singapore.
5 At about 1430 hours, ICA officers spotted and intercepted the 32-year old man. A body search was conducted on the man and ICA officers found a white envelope in the pockets of his jeans. Inside the envelope, three forged S Passes, three forged Safety Orientation Certificates (SOC) cards and three photocopies of PRC passport bio-data page were found. The runner was immediately placed under arrest and the forged cards were seized from him.
6 The forged S Passes had coarse and distorted Micro-line text when viewed under magnifying glass. The colour tone and font size/type of the forged cards are also different from the genuine S Pass. This is the first time ICA had come across forged S Passes.
7 The male PRC national has been referred to the Police for further investigation into the forgery of Government documents.
8 The Singapore authorities take a serious view of attempts to forge immigration cards and other related documents. For forgery of passes or in possession of forged passes, the offender faces an imprisonment for a term up to 7 years and shall also be liable to a fine.
9 Homeowners and landlords should check the immigration status of their prospective tenants. They can make use of VERIFI (VERIfication of Foreigner Immigration Status) and iCHECK (Identity Card Checking Facility) to verify the immigration passes and NRICs of their prospective tenants respectively. The VERIFI and iCHECK services are available at ICA's website: http://www.ica.gov.sg. MOM also has a system to allow the checking on the validity of work passes at their website: http://www.mom.gov.sg.
END OF NEWS RELEASE
Immigration & Checkpoints Authority
7 Apr 2005
A Malaysian man was arrested last night at Woodlands checkpoint when ICA officers found contraband cigarettes hidden in and under the speakers in his car. On 6 April 05 at about 1950 hours, our officers from the Task Force Team stopped a Malaysian registered car coming into Singapore through Woodlands checkpoint for a routine check.
2 During the check, our officers discovered some cartons of contraband cigarettes hidden under the speakers in the car boot. Our ICA officers interviewed the 31-year-old Malaysian driver who claimed that the cartons found were the only cartons of contraband cigarettes in his car. He looked very nervous and his eyes shifted rapidly when he answered our officers. Finding his behaviour suspicious, our officers continued their search and discovered more cartons of contraband cigarettes hidden inside the speakers of the car. The driver was immediately placed under arrest and the vehicle seized.
3 A total of 22 cartons of 200 sticks of contraband cigarettes were found in the car. The total amount of customs duties and Goods & Services Tax involved is estimated to be S$1,550 and S$100 respectively. The case has been referred to Singapore Customs for further investigation. If found guilty, the offenders could be fined up to a maximum of 20 times the amount of customs duties and Goods & Services Tax involved.
II) Runner Stopped in His Tracks
4 In the eastern part of sunny Singapore, things were not looking too bright for a People's Republic of China (PRC) national caught with forged documents in his possession. On 6 April 05, ICA officers laid an ambush in the vicinity of Chai Chee for the male PRC national suspected to be a runner of a foreign-based forged card syndicate. The syndicate is believed to be producing and selling forged S Passes (a category of work pass introduced by the Ministry of Manpower since July 04) to immigration offenders in Singapore.
5 At about 1430 hours, ICA officers spotted and intercepted the 32-year old man. A body search was conducted on the man and ICA officers found a white envelope in the pockets of his jeans. Inside the envelope, three forged S Passes, three forged Safety Orientation Certificates (SOC) cards and three photocopies of PRC passport bio-data page were found. The runner was immediately placed under arrest and the forged cards were seized from him.
6 The forged S Passes had coarse and distorted Micro-line text when viewed under magnifying glass. The colour tone and font size/type of the forged cards are also different from the genuine S Pass. This is the first time ICA had come across forged S Passes.
7 The male PRC national has been referred to the Police for further investigation into the forgery of Government documents.
8 The Singapore authorities take a serious view of attempts to forge immigration cards and other related documents. For forgery of passes or in possession of forged passes, the offender faces an imprisonment for a term up to 7 years and shall also be liable to a fine.
9 Homeowners and landlords should check the immigration status of their prospective tenants. They can make use of VERIFI (VERIfication of Foreigner Immigration Status) and iCHECK (Identity Card Checking Facility) to verify the immigration passes and NRICs of their prospective tenants respectively. The VERIFI and iCHECK services are available at ICA's website: http://www.ica.gov.sg. MOM also has a system to allow the checking on the validity of work passes at their website: http://www.mom.gov.sg.
END OF NEWS RELEASE
Immigration & Checkpoints Authority
7 Apr 2005