Attempt to smuggle Bangladeshi man out of S'pore foiled
Attempt to smuggle Bangladeshi man out of S'pore foiled
By Mustafa Shafawi | Posted: 16 July 2010 1847 hrs
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SINGAPORE : Another attempt to smuggle a Bangladeshi man out of Singapore has been foiled.
The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority said it is the fifth attempt in a month.
The Bangladeshi was found in the boot of a Malaysia-registered car at around 10pm on Tuesday at the Woodlands Checkpoint.
35-year-old Hashem Mir admitted to have overstayed in Singapore.
He claimed that his passport had been taken away by an agent after his arrival in January.
Stranded without a passport, he job-hopped to make ends meet, but decided to return home after months of drifting from jobs to job aimlessly.
He was approached by an unknown Chinese man who arranged for his illegal departure for S$1,000.
Hashem was charged in Court on Thursday and was sentenced to six weeks' jail and four strokes of the cane.
The unemployed 24-year-old Malaysian driver had also admitted to abetting Hashem's illegal departure.
He claimed that he had incurred a debt of 4,000 Malaysian ringgit making illegal soccer bets.
Without a means to pay up, he succumbed to the bookie's offer to smuggle the immigration offender out of Singapore for a 500 Malaysian ringgit reduction of his debt.
He will appear in court on July 22. - CNA/ms