SINGAPORE: A Cambodian man has been charged with possessing a Taiwan passport that was not issued to him, and the police are investigating possible money-laundering activities linked to him.
Zaw San Aung, 33, was handed a charge last week under the Passports Act of having a foreign travel document that was not issued to him.
He returned to court on Monday (Sep 25) for a further mention of his case.
Zaw is accused of being found in the departure section of Changi Airport Terminal 3 on Sep 17 with a Taiwan passport that did not belong to him. The passport bore the particulars of a Chen Jun-Ji, a man born on Jan 5, 1996
He was first charged a day after this on Sep 18, and remanded with permission to be taken out for investigations.
On Monday, the prosecution sought four weeks’ adjournment for the investigating officer from the Singapore Police Force’s Commercial Affairs Department to “complete investigations into possible money-laundering activities”.
Zaw’s new lawyer, Mr Navin Naidu from Dentons Rodyk & Davidson argued for bail of S$25,000 (US$18,300) instead, saying his client does have some roots in Singapore and is on an employment pass.
He said Zaw was not a flight risk, but the prosecutor responded that Zaw was found with a Taiwan passport, trying to leave Singapore.
Mr Naidu replied that his client was trying to travel to Japan and was not using this passport to travel to Cambodia.
The prosecution countered that Zaw was found with three passports, from Cambodia, Myanmar and Taiwan.
Zaw had tried to use the Cambodian passport with his real identity to leave Singapore, and his employment pass is valid until 2025, the court heard.
It is unclear at this early stage of court proceedings how Zaw was found out.
The prosecution said there was a higher flight risk justifying higher bail, stating that Zaw is a foreigner found to be trying to leave Singapore with three passports.
The judge offered bail of S$50,000 and adjourned the case to October.
If convicted of possessing a foreign travel document not issued to him, Zaw could be jailed for up to 10 years, fined up to S$10,000, or both.