A 32-year-old man was arrested on Tuesday night for attempting to leave Singapore illegally. What was his mode of transportation? None other than a humble motorised sampan, according to the police. Bet he had a hard time trying to outrun the cops.
Around 10.30pm, the Police Coast Guard noticed the man’s sampan drifting towards Malaysia in the Straits of Johor. Both land and sea resources were deployed, and the man was caught less than half an hour later, at the sea off Lim Chu Kang.
He will be charged in Court today for theft — follow-up investigations indicated the sampan was stolen — and attempting to depart the country unlawfully at an unauthorised area. Looks like he could be jailed up to three years for theft, and up to six months or a fine of $2,000 (or both) for committing an offence under the Immigration act.
