An Indonesian man, Brick, has been convicted for the fifth time for immigration offences in Singapore.
The 26-year-old man was sentenced to one-and-a-half years’ jail and nine strokes of the cane on Monday (April 8), according to a report.
Brick had previously been convicted four times over immigration offences and received a total of 25 strokes of the cane. Despite this, he took a sampan from Batam, Indonesia to Singapore waters and abandoned the boat before swimming to shore.
The court heard that Brick was arrested by Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers in March when he could not produce any evidence to show he was staying in Singapore legally. He did not have any travel documents on him at the time of his arrest.
Brick had been last charged and convicted in court in November 2019 for similar immigration offences. He had been sentenced to a year’s jail and eight strokes of the cane and then deported back to Indonesia.
Before his deportation, he was given a written notice informing him that he was banned from entering Singapore and needed prior written permission to enter or reside in Singapore in the future, the report added.
Despite this, in end-June 2023, Brick attempted to enter Singapore again by abandoning his sampan and swimming to shore using an improvised floating device. He stayed in Singapore illegally for about nine months until he was caught by ICA officers.
In a series of legal proceedings, he was sentenced to various jail terms and strokes of the cane for immigration offenses. In May 2017, he received six weeks’ jail and four strokes of the cane. In January 2018, he was sentenced to 14 weeks’ jail and six strokes of the cane for the same offense, with an additional charge of returning to Singapore illegally. In July 2019, he was handed 18 weeks’ jail and seven strokes of the cane for similar offenses.
The prosecutor pushed for the maximum sentence of six months’ jail and nine strokes of the cane for entering Singapore without a valid pass, citing his persistent behavior.
The judge agreed and increased his sentence due to his repeated offending.
In his mitigation, Brick expressed remorse and said he was working to support his family, including his ill mother. Despite this, the judge considered his past criminal convictions and ultimately handed down a harsher sentence.
Image via SPF
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