A human smuggler is arrested and jail for seven years. (Yahoo! file photo)
A Malaysian man, believed to have sneaked in 200 illegal immigrants to Singapore between 2007 and 2009, has been sentenced to seven years' jail.
63-year-old Law Song, an odd job labourer who worked as a human smuggler for almost 10 years, was sentenced on Wednesday after he pleaded guilty to six of the 12 charges against him.
According to The Straits Times, Law was the mastermind behind a human smuggling syndicate that operated to smuggle people from Johor, Malaysia, to Singapore.
For $2,000, Law would make arrangements for boat operators to ferry the illegal immigrants across the Straits of Johor. Each speedboat would contain a group of three to four illegal immigrants. The operators have been sentenced to between four weeks' and six years' jail.
Law was handed over to Singapore authorities on 22 July after his was arrested by the Royal Malaysian Police in Kuala Lumpur four days earlier. He is the second syndicate leader arrested this year.
In February, Wu Feng Xia, based in Putian, was arrested. Wu is believed to have supplied clients to Law.
In a separate incident, 39 immigration offenders were arrested in a series of islandwide operations at 12 locations from Monday to Wednesday.
Offenders were from Bangladesh, China, India, Nepal, Indonesia and Myanmar. They were mostly overstayers between 17 and 53 years old, said the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA).
Most claim to be cleaners, painters, odd-job labourers, construction workers and food stall helpers. However, some of the women admitted to be involved in vice activities and are currently being investigated by the ICA and the Singapore Police Force.
Five Singaporeans are also being investigated for harbouring and/or employing these offenders.
The penalties for overstaying more than 90 days and illegal entry are a jail term of up to six months, plus a minimum of three strokes of the cane for male offenders below 50. In lieu of caning, female offenders shall be fine up to $6,000.
The ICA advises homeowners to exercise due diligence in checking the status of their prospective foreign tenants to ensure that their status in Singapore is legal.
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