Johor Customs say nabbed Singaporean man in car boot attempting to enter Malaysia in December
ISKANDAR PUTERI, March 4 — The Johor Customs Department said today it had arrested two local women for attempting to smuggle a Singaporean man without a passport at the checkpoint of the Johor Causeway.
The Singaporean, who is in his 50s, was found hiding inside the boot compartment of an older model Perodua Myvi car as it was being inspected at the Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) facility at the Sultan Iskandar Building in Johor Baru on December 13 last year.
Johor Customs Department director Aminul Izmeer Mohd Sohaimi said the Singaporean man was arrested without valid travel documents at the time of his arrest.
He said the two Malaysian women, who are in their 20s, were also arrested after enforcement officers noticed them acting suspiciously.
“Initial investigations revealed that the Singapore man had wanted to come to Malaysia for work, but he did not possess a passport due to some legal complications.
“The two women were said to be acquaintances of the man and they received a payment of SG$3,000 (RM10,550) to bring him into Malaysia,” said Aminul Izmeer to reporters at the Sungai Pulai Customs Department Enforcement Complex here
Aminul Izmeer said all three suspects have been charged in Johor Baru, with the two women charged under Section 26J of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrant Act 2007 for transporting a smuggled migrant.
The offence under Section 26J of the Act carries a jail term of up to five years or a maximum fine of RM250,000, or both, upon conviction.
Aminul Izmeer said a Singaporean man was charged under the Immigration Act 1959/63 for not having valid travel documents.
He said that the Singaporean man has since completed serving a three-month prison sentence for his offence.
