- Joined
- Mar 12, 2009
- Messages
- 13,160
- Points
- 0
Chinese national tries to leave S'pore in car boot
Thu, Jul 08, 2010
AsiaOne
SINGAPORE - A female Chinese national was arrested
after Immigration & Checkpoints Authority officers discovered
her in the boot of a car. The officers were suspicious of a
heavily pregnant lone female driver at the Woodlands Checkpoint.
They deduced that her discomfort was not due to her pregnancy
and stopped her car for inspections. Forty-three year old
Wei Cai Hong was discovered in the boot of the
Malaysia-registered saloon car. The Malaysian driver, Chia Kiu Lim,
was paid $700 to help Wei out of the country. She agreed because she claimed she had separated from her husband and was in financial difficulty.
Wei claimed that her work permit as a factory worker had been cancelled without reason. She then decided to return to China upon hearing that her mother was ill.
She paid a Malaysian middleman $2,000 to depart Singapore illegally.
Wei Cai Hong was charged and convicted for illegal entry on July 7.
She was sentenced to 12 weeks' jail and fined $2,500 in default 5 weeks' imprisonment.
Chia Kiu Lim's case will be mentioned at a later date.
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.
