SINGAPORE: Four Malaysians were arrested for attempting to smuggle a Myanmar woman out of Singapore, according to the Singapore Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) today.
The ICA said in a statement that at 7.45pm on Feb 28, its officers stopped a departing Malaysia-registered car for inspection at the Woodlands Checkpoint.
The car was driven by a 42-year-old Malaysian woman and carried another Malaysian woman.
While performing the inspection, the officers found a third woman hiding in the car boot who did not have any travel or identification document with her.
In the midst of investigating the detection, ICA said, its officers noticed another Malaysia-registered car at the post-immigration area, with its engine running.
Suspecting that the idling car was involved with the one hiding the fugitive and might attempt to escape, the ICA officers swiftly activated a lockdown of the checkpoint at 8.03pm.
The lockdown was lifted at 8.10pm once the male driver and the female passenger of the idling car had been secured, said the authority.
ICA said preliminary investigations revealed that the drivers and passengers of both cars, who were all Malaysians, were in cahoots.
They were arrested along with the woman found hiding in the car boot who was identified to be a Myanmar national.
The four Malaysians, aged between 29 and 42, were charged on March 2, 2019, for the offence of engaging in the business of conveying prohibited immigrants out of Singapore while the Myanmar national was charged for illegal entry and attempted illegal departure offences. – Bernama
