2 Men Caught & Jailed 8 Months For Possessing Fake S’pore IC & Passport

Our Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers are good at their jobs.

They can spot hiding places in vehicles.

Spot fake electrical control panels.

And even spot duty-unpaid cigarettes hidden within metal cabinets.

So when it comes to spotting fake passports and identification cards? We’re not surprised that they were able to do it.

2 Men Caught & Jailed 8 Months For Using Fake S’pore IC & Passport

According to a media release by ICA on 6 June, two Sri Lankan men, 21-year-old Pushparaj Kapil and 32-year-old Ramachandran Kriysso Prasshad, were sentenced to eight months’ jail terms on 28 Apr and 4 Jun 2020 respectively.

Kapil was convicted of having a fake Singapore passport and NRIC while Prasshad was charged for abetting Kapil to be in possession of these forged documents.

They were both arrested by ICA officers on 29 Feb 2020.

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Kapil Had Wanted To Seek Asylum In Canada

According to court documents, Kapil had asked a person named “Sam” for help in seeking asylum in Canada.

He agreed to pay Sam about S$45,000 for his help.

Prasshad was then contacted by Sam to help Kapil get to Canada.

He obtained the forged documents from a Malaysian man known as “Muhammad” on 26 Jan 2020.

On 28 Feb, when the duo was on the bus from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore where they’ll catch a flight to Laos, Prasshad handed Kapil a pouch containing the court documents.

Upon arriving at the Singapore Tuas Checkpoint at 6.30am on 29 Feb, Kapil had handed over his rightful passport at the immigration counter.

However, the officer at the desk noticed that Kapil was behaving strangely and referred him to the duty office.

Because he was travelling with Kapil, Prasshad was similarly referred to the office as well.

When a search was conducted on the two men’s belongings, the forged documents were found and ICA officers immediately arrested them.

A Serious Offence

ICA says that possessing false travel documents or forged identity cards is a serious offence.

Under Section 37(1) of the Passports Act and Section 13(2)(b) of the National Registration Act, a person who knowingly has possession of a false Singapore passport or a forged identity card, respectively, shall be guilty of an offence.

If convicted, he or she may be sentenced to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years or to both.

For abetting such an offence, a person may be sentenced with the same punishment.