A 47-year-old Singapore citizen, Chan Kok Keong (“Chan”), was sentenced to eight months’ imprisonment for harbouring a female Chinese immigration offender.

2.          Chan had rented two units located at Kembangan Plaza and Eunos Crescent. He then signed tenancy agreements to allow a female Chinese national friend, Gong Xiuxian (“Gong”) to stay and manage both units from July to September 2019 and October 2019 to November 2020 respectively. Chan claimed that he had assumed Gong to be a valid Dependant’s Pass holder and thus did not verify if her immigration status in Singapore was valid. Investigations revealed that, Gong had overstayed in Singapore since 2014.

3.          On 2 November 2020, ICA officers conducted checks on the unit located in Eunos Crescent. To evade arrest, Gong climbed out from the unit’s bedroom window and fell off the window ledge to the ground floor. She was subsequently pronounced dead on-site by paramedics.

4.          For not exercising due diligence to ascertain if Gong’s immigration pass was valid when he allowed her to stay at the unit located at Eunos Crescent, Chan had committed an offence of harbouring an immigration offender with reckless disregard under the Immigration Act. 

5.          ICA takes a firm stance against any person who harbours immigration offenders. Those who wish to rent their premises must exercise due diligence in checking the status of their prospective foreign tenants to ensure that their status in Singapore is legal. They are required to conduct the following three mandatory checks:

a. Check the tenant’s original immigration/work pass;
b. Cross check the particulars on his/her pass against the particulars on his/her original passport; and
c. Verify the validity of his/her pass by checking with the issuing authority (i.e. MOM for work related passes at www.mom.gov.sg and ICA for other immigration passes such as Student’s Pass and Long-Term Visit Pass at http://eservices.ica.gov.sg/ipienquiry/web/verifi/landing)

(See Annex for more tips on the above.)

6.          If any person is found guilty of recklessly (i.e. carrying out only one of the three due diligence checks) or knowingly harbouring overstayers and/or illegal immigrants, he may be sentenced to imprisonment for a presumptive minimum term of not less than six months and not more than two years and a fine of up to S$6,000. If any person is found guilty of negligently (i.e. carrying out only two of the three due diligence checks) harbouring overstayers and/or illegal immigrants, he may be sentenced to a fine of up to S$6,000 or to imprisonment for a term of up to 12 months or both.

IMMIGRATION & CHECKPOINTS AUTHORITY
27 MAY 2022

Annex