SINGAPORE: A woman from China was jailed for six months and fined S$ 4, 000 on Friday ( Sep 27 ) for overstaying in Singapore for more than 18 years.
Chen Yueying, 54, pleaded guilty to one matter under the Immigration Act for remaining in Singapore for 18 years, 10 months and one evening from November 2005, after her particular go had expired.
Since she was first requested to be a witness for an unidentified case, Chen was given a specific pass on November 2, 2005, which allowed her to stay in Singapore until November 23, 2005.
She did n’t show up when she was supposed to go back to the police station, where she spent almost 19 years, before turning herself in on September 24th, 2018, at Bukit Merah East Neighbourhood Police Centre.
She was remanded and attended proceedings via video-link, sporting shoulder-length locks, glasses and a helmet.
The jury heard that this was Chen’s following crime. She aws charged on Sep 16, 2005 for another multiculturalism crime.
On Sep 23, 2005, she was jailed for 18 months and fined S$ 3, 000, with six months ‘ prison in default.
After being released from prison, the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority ( ICA ) issued her with a special permit that allowed her to testify in court in a police case on October 14, 2005.
The unique move was extended a number of times, with the most recent extension allowing her to leave Singapore by November 23, 2005 because she was no longer required to testify for the prosecution.
On Nov 23, 2005, she was supposed to report to ICA’s relocation unit to be repatriated.
Yet, she did not show up. Otherwise, she wanted to remain in Singapore to work and earn income. The attorney and the girl herself made no mention of the work she did in court.  ,
The ICA counsel requested on Friday that Chen be given a maximum prison term of six months, claiming that he had been a repeat offender with an “extremely much” overstay.
In addition to the punishment fine, he requested an uplift of the S$ 3, 000 good that was originally levied against her.
Chen said nothing substantive in her prevention, pleading solely for clemency through a Mandarin translator.
She claimed she will have to pay the fine and will mistake for another eight months.
For overstaying in Singapore, she could have been jailed for up to six months. A female criminal would also have experienced at least three wood stroke, but since she is a woman, she could face a fine of up to S$ 6, 000 in place of punishment.
In a speech to CNA, ICA stated that it would like to repeat that overstaying is a serious crime and that the penalties are” similarly extreme.”
“ICA handles demanding and ordinary in-land police checks with various law enforcement agencies such as the Singapore Police Force to arrest criminals, including overstayers”, said the director.
She added that the general public should likewise take action to stop overstaying.
Before hiring a foreign worker or tenant or renting out their premises, the spokesperson warned that employers and people must do their due diligence and verify that their future employees’ or tenants ‘ status in Singapore is legitimate.
” This includes examining their initial immigration or work pass, comparing their card information to that on their complete, and confirming the authenticity of their complete through the issuing council’s website.”
Members of public should report suspected cases of immigration offenders to ICA at https ://go.gov.sg/icafeedbackio, she added.
Immigration criminals ‘ businesses or harborers could receive sentences of up to 24 months in prison or a fine of up to S$ 6 000.  ,