SINGAPORE, Dec 16 – Singapore authorities have reported a 31.6 per cent increase in arrests related to harbouring or employing immigration offenders in the first nine months of 2024 compared to the same period last year.
The Straits Times cited the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) saying the rise is troubling, as many offenders are overstayers whose work passes have expired or been cancelled.
“This trend can potentially be dangerous because we would not know if these immigration offenders are committing any illicit activities here,” Inspector Mark Chai, deputy officer-in-charge of ICA’s intelligence division, told the paper.
“If employers and those who provide lodging for them fail to ensure that they are here on a legal basis, it could become a security risk.”
He reportedly said that these immigration offenders may resort to crime to sustain their livelihood if left unchecked, like selling or smuggling of contraband cigarettes, vapes, and even sex work.
Between January and September 2024, ICA reportedly arrested 166 individuals for harbouring immigration offenders and 138 for hiring them. In comparison, 231 arrests were made for such offences in the same period of 2023.
Some immigration offenders worked illegally after overstaying on lapsed work or social visit passes. Many were employed in sectors like food stalls and construction, while others were sheltered by relatives or acquaintances for financial gain.
“Some employers and harbourers would feign ignorance and claim that they do not know how to check the immigration status of foreigners. But we have made it clear the channels which can be used for verification.
“Ignorance is not an excuse, and everyone needs to do their due diligence to check,” Superintendent Goh Wee Kiat, a senior assistant director at ICA, reportedly said.
Authorities cited an August case where a 43-year-old Chinese national, overstaying since October 2023, was sentenced to six weeks’ jail and three strokes of the cane. The person harbouring him was fined S$3,000.
In another case, a Chinese man overstayed for two years and worked illegally at a food stall. He was sentenced to 14 weeks’ jail and caning, while his employer received a warning, and the harbourer was fined S$3,500.
The ICA conducts around 60 monthly operations targeting overstayers and related offences. These efforts rely on public tip-offs and technological tools to identify offenders.
Under Singapore law, those harbouring or hiring immigration offenders face up to two years in jail, a fine of up to S$6,000 (RM19,800), or both.
