Singapore - Losses accumulated from illegal soccer betting during the recent World Cup proved too much for some to handle, when a Malaysian man was coerced by a bookie into smuggling an overstayer out of Singapore for a reduction of his debt.

Earlier this week, Hashem Mir, 35, a Bangladeshi odd-job worker, who overstayed in Singapore, was arrested at Woodlands Checkpoint together with his abettor.

The driver, a 24-year-old Malaysian man, was carrying Hashem in the trunk of a Malaysian-registered saloon when he attempted to cross the border into Johor Bahru.

Checkpoint authorities found Hashem lying prone in the car boot when they stopped the vehicle for regular checks.

Hashem claimed that his passport had been taken away by an agent after his arrival in January 2010.

Stranded without a passport, he job-hopped to make ends meet, but decided to return home after months of
drifting from jobs to jobs aimlessly. He was approached by an unknown Chinese man who arranged for his illegal departure for a fee of S$1,000.

After the arrest, Hashem has since been charged in Court on July 15, and was sentenced to six weeks jail and four strokes of the cane.

The unemployed Malaysian driver, who had incurred a debt of RM4,000 ($1718) making illegal soccer bets, also admitted to abetting the illegal departure of Hashem.

Without a means to pay up, he succumbed to the bookie's offer to smuggle the immigration offender out of Singapore for a RM500 reduction of his debt.

The two met near the Woodlands Centre and drove to a secluded area where the latter was asked to hide
inside the car boot before heading for Woodlands Checkpoint.

The vehicle used in the commission of the offences has been detained and is liable for forfeiture.

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, while the penalties for illegal departure is a fine of up to $2,000, a jail term of up to six months, or both.