The Ministry of Health has a travel advisory: All Singaporeans and residents of Singapore are still advised to defer all travel abroad. However, essential business and official travel will be permitted under Green/ Fast Lane arrangement.
One guy decided to go against it and…swam to Malaysia.
Wait, what?
Migrant Worker Caught Swimming to M’sia After He Was Investigated Another Offence
Yesterday, ICA posted a Facebook update that went viral, clocking over 1.3k Shares in less than 20 hours.
Here it is:
https://www.facebook.com/Immigration.Checkpoints.Authority/posts/1266015193748392
Yes, a Bangladeshi decided to depart Singapore by swimming to Malaysia.
Lest you can’t read, here’s what they’ve written:
You ‘sinking’ of escaping?
On 18 Aug, checkpoint officers at Woodlands Checkpoint foiled a male Bangladeshi’s attempt to illegally depart Singapore by swimming towards Malaysia.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the 35-year-old Bangladeshi man is under police investigations for voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means.
Our borders are the first line of defence in safeguarding Singapore’s security. The ICA takes a serious view of attempts to enter or depart Singapore illegally. Under the Immigration Act (Cap 133), the penalties for illegal entry are a jail term of up to six months and a minimum of three strokes of the cane, while penalties for illegal departure are a fine of up to $2,000, a jail term of up to six months, or both.
While we wonder if ICA’s Facebook Page is now managed by SCDF’s Facebook admins, here’s something more informative: it’s not the first time that a Bangladeshi has tried to between the two countries
Back in 2017, not one, not two but four Bangladeshi men, between the age of 25 and 42, tried to swim to from Malaysia to Singapore. They were detected by the Police Coast Guard off Sungei Tuan, which are Malaysian territorial waters.
