Singaporean detained at Johor checkpoint for 'reversed' stamp in passport

SINGAPORE - A Singaporean man was detained by Malaysian customs officials for over two hours after they discovered that his passport was stamped - albeit inversely.

The misunderstanding started when Mr Wang, 58, reached the Woodlands checkpoint. After his passport was stamped, Mr Wang verified that the the date was correct, and proceeded in to Johor Bahru.

According to the Chinese evening paper Shin Min Daily News, Mr Wang, a hawker, was making his way back to Singapore some 30 mins later after purchasing some Traditional Chinese Medicine, but was stopped by Malaysian custom officials at the Malaysian checkpoint

An official initially claimed that Mr Wang's passport was not stamped, and got another colleague over.

Speaking to a reporter from Shin Min Daily, Mr Wang said: "After the Malaysian customs officer told me to park my car by the roadside, he escorted me to their office."

Mr Wang said that there were three officials present, and one of them photocopied his passport, while another official explained to him that the delay was due to the erroneous stamp on his passport.

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"I examined the stamp on my passport and realised that it was imprinted wrongly - in the opposite direction," Mr Wang said.

According to Mr Wang, the fiasco only ended two hours later after the the officer who stamped his passport admitted his mistake.

"Thankfully, nothing happened this time. If it was a lapse on my part, the ending would have been much worse."

Mr Wang added that he insisted for their signature on the erroneous stamp before he left.

"I wasn't worried as it wasn't my fault. I just felt very wronged that I got delayed because of their mistake."

grongloh@sph.com.sg