2 Myanmar nationals arrested for attempting to leave Singapore illegally

Two male Myanmar nationals have been arrested by the authorities for attempting to leave Singapore illegally on Tuesday morning (Feb 9), said the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) and Singapore Police Force in a joint statement.

The Police Coast Guard (PCG) had informed ICA officers at Woodlands Checkpoint that they had seen two men walking along the water pipeline towards Malaysia at about 4.05am.

The authorities were immediately deployed to locate the two men, who were found at about 4.15am and arrested on the spot.

The men, aged 26 and 42, were found with that were suspected to be used as floatation devices.

Preliminary investigations showed that the two offenders had overstayed in Singapore.

Under the Immigration Act (Cap 133), the penalties for overstaying or illegal entry are a jail term of up to six months and a minimum of three strokes of the cane. The penalties for illegal departure is a fine of up to $2,000, a jail term of up to six months, or both.

Investigations are ongoing.

ssandrea@sph.com.sg