Man jailed for failing to present passport

A Malaysian technician who entered Singapore at Woodlands Checkpoint without presenting his passport was jailed for six weeks yesterday.

Mohd Sani Mohamad Salleh, 33, admitted to an amended charge of failing to present his Malaysian passport to the officer on duty before he entered the country on April 21. He was originally charged with attempting to enter Singapore without a valid pass.

A district court heard that Mohd Sani told an Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officer that he did not have his passport with him and handed over his identity card.

Two auxiliary police officers arrived at the counter to escort him to the arrival car secondary office.

Mohd Sani drove and stopped his car at the entrance. He was then directed to park his car outside the office - but instead he sped off towards the exit of the carpark and green channel zone.

The panic button was activated and the checkpoint was locked down for eight minutes.

Mohd Sani's car stopped before the ramp, where vehicles were awaiting checks.

He was detained after he refused to alight from his car when ordered to do so by two auxiliary police officers who gave chase.

His lawyer Nasser Ismail said he has had a history of psychotic disorder and acute psychosis since 2008. His employer had told him to go home that day as he was behaving "abnormally". Instead, he decided to visit a friend in Tuas.

His sentence was backdated to April 23. The maximum penalty for the offence is a $1,000 fine and six months' jail.

elena@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on June 4, 2014.
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