Two men arrested for trying to depart Singapore illegally
Xinhua, November 25, 2015 Adjust font size:
Two male Malaysians, who were attempting to leave Singapore illegally by swimming to Malaysia with trash bags over their heads as concealment, were arrested by the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA), said the authority in a news release on Wednesday.
ICA officers at the Woodlands Checkpoint spotted two black trash bags floating near the shoreline along the Causeway at about 4:40 a.m. on Wednesday. Sensing something amiss, the officers conducted checks and detected two persons.
Further checks revealed that the two male Malaysians, aged 37 and 39, were attempting to depart Singapore by swimming to Malaysia while holding the trash bags over their heads to conceal themselves.
They were immediately placed under arrest, said ICA. Preliminary investigations showed that the two immigration offenders have overstayed in Singapore.
ICA takes a serious view of attempts to overstay, enter or depart Singapore illegally. Under the Immigration Act, 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 Singapore dollars (1,425 U.S. dollars), a jail term of up to six months, or both. Endit