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Singapore sees less immigration offenders in 2015

Xinhua, February 19, 2016 Adjust font size:

Singapore arrested 1,901 immigration offenders (IOs), a decrease from 2,040 in 2014, said the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) in its annual statistics report on Friday.

The number of illegal immigrants arrested fell about 11 percent from 350 in 2014 to 310 in 2015, while the number of overstayers arrested also dropped about 6 percent from 1,690 in 2014 to 1,591 last year.

In 2015, 416 harborers and 91 errant employers were arrested for providing lodging or work to IOs. The number arrested has increased by 59 percent as compared to 2014.

Almost half of the harborers arrested last year were Singaporeans, ICA said, adding that the errant employers who engaged IOs came from various industries such as construction, food and beverage and cleaning services.

In terms of contraband cases, the number detected at Singapore's checkpoints increased about 2 percent from 93,380 in 2014 to 95,677 in 2015. Despite stringent checks at the borders, smuggling attempts have not abated, ICA said.

There's also emerging trend in contraband cases, as online shopping becoming more popular with Singaporeans. The smuggling of contraband items via parcels and packages shipped into Singapore is increasing, with the number of contraband cases detected in parcels and packages increased from 14,289 in 2014 to 18,419 last year, ICA noted. Enditem