A Singaporean man who fled the country to avoid an 18-month jail term was caught at Changi Airport about 24 years later after an automated immigration lane rejected his clearance attempt.
Tan Khi Wie, 58, was sentenced on 11 August 2026 to 14 months and three weeks in jail for immigration offences and failing to attend court.
That sentence is equivalent to the 11 months and 15 weeks reported in court records.
He Escaped Singapore on a Fishing Boat
Tan’s story began on 6 August 2002, when he was convicted of cheating the former Singapore Productivity and Standards Board.
He had deceived the government agency into paying out a S$195,800 grant under the Local Enterprise Technical Assistance Scheme. The court sentenced him to 18 months in jail.
Tan filed an appeal that month but fled Singapore instead of serving his sentence.
Investigations later found that he had left illegally aboard a fishing boat sometime between August 2002 and January 2003. He travelled through Pasir Gudang in Johor and Thailand before settling in Jakarta, Indonesia.
After he missed a court mention on 21 January 2003, the authorities issued a warrant for his arrest on 20 February.
He Returned to Singapore Several Times
Despite being wanted by the police, Tan did not stay away from Singapore for the entire 24 years.
Between 2011 and 2016, he entered and left Singapore several times using Indonesian passports under the false name “Ken Srona”.
He also falsely stated on his disembarkation forms that he had never entered Singapore with a passport bearing another name.
His run finally ended on 7 March 2026.
Tan arrived at Changi Airport with an Indonesian passport carrying the same false identity. When he could not complete clearance at an automated lane, Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers performed additional checks.
They established his real identity and discovered the outstanding police warrant. Tan was detained and handed over to the police.
New Jail Term Comes After Original Sentence
Tan was convicted of six offences: two counts of failing to present a valid passport and one count each of making a false statement on an arrival card, knowingly presenting a false passport, leaving Singapore illegally and failing to attend court.
Another 16 Immigration Act charges were considered during sentencing.
His latest sentence will begin only after he completes the original 18-month jail term imposed in 2002.
ICA said Singapore has used multimodal biometric systems at its checkpoints since July 2020 to improve the detection of travellers using false or multiple identities.
Automated lanes at Singapore’s air, land and sea checkpoints use both facial and iris scans to authenticate travellers.
In other words, he managed to return several times under another name, but the upgraded system eventually recognised that something did not add up.
