TWO human smugglers who attempted to sneak five illegal
immigrants into Singapore on Monday morning were arrested by the
Police Coast Guard (PCG).
A PCG officer spotted an unlit vessel moving towards the
shorelines of Sungei Buloh Nature Reserve at 5.35am. Five people
were later seen disembarking and running towards the nature
reserve.
The boatman and his assistant then steered their boat towards
Malaysia territorial waters but made a U-turn to the shore after
spotting PCG patrol boats converging on them. They beached at the
shore, and also ran towards the nature reserve.
All seven were eventually caught in a joint operation involving
the PCG's Coastal Security Patrol Force, Jurong Police Division,
Special Operations Command and the Gurhka Contingent
Of the seven people, five were female illegal immigrants from
China between 32 and 54 years, while the boatman and his assistant
were Malaysians, aged 54 and 21 respectively.
All seven suspects were not in possession of any valid travel
documents and will be charged in court on Wednesday for unlawful
entry. The boatman and his assistant will also face five additional
counts of smuggling illegal immigrants.
