4 Indonesians Arrested & Charged for Swimming into S’pore After a Journey on a Boat

There are many ways to enter Singapore: via Changi Airport, Woodlands Checkpoint, Tuas Checkpoint or the ferry terminals.

By land, by air, by sea, basically.

Four Indonesians, however, decided to take it literally and entered Singapore via the sea…by swimming their way in.

And the authorities decide to provide some “CounterStrike-like” images to prove their entry.

What Happened

On 9 Oct, the Police Coast Guard (PCG) detected an anomaly at Tuas reclaimed land at about 8.30pm on their surveillance system.

They spotted a boat off Tuas Reclaimed Land and saw four individuals jumping into the water.

The group then swam furiously towards Singapore’s shore.

All four individuals reached land safely.

Remember what I said about CounterStrike? Here’s a thermal imaging of them reaching land.

Response

The alarm was raised and authorities responded to the intrusion immediately.

Officers from the Police Coast Guard, Jurong Police Division, the Gurkha Contingent, Special Operations Command and Home Team Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Unit were deployed to catch the men.

These men were arrested by 1.30am, within 5 hours from when they were detected.

All of them were charged in court on 10 Oct for unlawful entry into Singapore and were handed over to the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) for investigations.

For the offence of unlawful entry, they could be jailed for up to 6 months or given at least 3 strokes of the cane.

Not The First Time This Happened In 2020

In the aftermath of the incident, Senior Assistant Commissioner of Police Cheang Keng Keong from the Police Coast Guard commended the officers involved in the case for their efficiency and vigilance.

He said that the PCG will continue to safeguard Singapore’s waters and borders against such offenders.

Which makes you wonder, are these type of incidents common?

We did a quick search on Google and turns out, while it’s not common, this has happened before.

In 2020, no less.

Back in Jan 2020, a PCG craft intercepted an unidentified boat at sea in Singapore waters.

Two Indonesians and a Malaysian were caught for trying to enter unlawfully into Singapore.

In addition, the Malaysian man was also being investigated for running a business which helps smuggle illegal immigrants into other countries.

By the way, since we’re on the topic of entry into Singapore from Indonesia, starting 19 Oct 2020, Indonesians who want to enter Singapore will have to undergo a swab test before leaving for Singapore.

In order to gain entry into the country, they have to produce a negative result.

You can find out more about the newly revised border measures here.