SINGAPORE, Dec 30 — Assuming that he was wanted by the police for his involvement in a gang fight, a Singaporean man left for Malaysia. He later got a fake Malaysian passport that he used to visit his family in Singapore between 2008 and 2009.

Andrew Lu Eng Leong, 58, was sentenced to 20 weeks’ jail yesterday (December 29) after he pleaded guilty to five charges under the Immigration Act.

These charges were related to his failure to present a Singapore passport when entering Singapore, producing a misleading document, and making a false statement to obtain a visit pass.

Four other similar charges were taken into consideration during sentencing.

In a media statement on Friday, the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) said that it regularly reviews and enhances the robustness of the immigration processes and systems here.

"Since July 2020, all automated and manual immigration lanes or counters at the passengers halls of Singapore’s land, sea and air checkpoints have been equipped with iris and facial scanners.”

It added that the concurrent use of these biometric identifiers, in addition to fingerprint screening as a secondary biometric identifier, will provide even more reliable authentication of the identity of travellers.

This will also further strengthen its ability to safeguard Singapore’s borders, it said.

False identity

The court heard that Lu had departed for Malaysia early in 1991, using his Singapore passport, after forming the belief that he was wanted by the police for his involvement in a gang fight.

Court documents did not specify if he was correct in his belief about being wanted by the police.

His Singapore passport expired on Feb 27, 1991.

Sometime between 2000 and 2004, he obtained a fraudulent Malaysian identity card, under the name "Low Kheng Nyok” through a Malaysian friend at a fee of RM10,000 (about S$3,000) to RM20,000.

A year after he got his Malaysian identity card, he obtained a Malaysian passport with his photograph and fake particulars.

He wanted to travel to Singapore to visit his family and ageing mother but did not want to use his real identity because he still believed that he was wanted by the authorities.

Deputy Superintendent (DSP) Muhammad Izzat from ICA said that in 2006, Lu obtained a second Malaysia passport in a similar fashion even though he knew that the particulars in both passports did not represent him.

Visiting Singapore

On Jan 4 in 2008, Lu arrived at Changi Airport Terminal 2 where he did not present a Singapore passport to the immigration officer for clearance.

This was to evade detection by the authorities and he instead produced the Malaysian passport he obtained in 2006 and handed a disembarkation form to the immigration officer.

He was granted a 30-day visit pass.

A few months later, he repeated the process when he arrived at Changi Airport Terminal 1 to depart Singapore.

Unaware that Lu had a produced a Malaysian passport with particulars that did not represent him, the immigration officer had unwittingly allowed him to leave, DSP Izzat said.

On April 25 in 2009, Lu returned to Singapore in the same manner with his disembarkation form filled using false particulars, and was again granted a 30-day visit pass.

ICA began investigations into Lu on June 28 last year as he was traced to be a person using multiple identities.

Lu was arrested on June 27 this year after investigations were completed.

An issue of national security

Seeking between 20 and 22 weeks’ jail, DSP Izzat argued that even though Lu is a Singapore citizen, he had chosen to circumvent the country’s border control by using a Malaysian passport.

DSP Izzat also added that Lu had committed the offences over a prolonged period in circumstances where border control measures have to be safeguarded.

In delivering his decision, District Judge Paul Chan disagreed with the defence counsel asking for 16 weeks’ jail and emphasised that the principle of deterrence had an important role to play in sentencing Lu.

"It is an issue of national security as what is at stake here is Singapore’s ability to police its own borders,” he said.

The penalties for producing a false document are jail for up to two years or a fine of up to S$6,000, or both.

For making a false statement to obtain a visit pass, Lu could have been jailed for up to 12 months or fined S$4,000, or both.

For failing to present a Singapore passport before entry, he could have been jailed for up to six months or fined S$1,000, or both. — TODAY