Singaporean, 28, sentenced to 8 months' jail in Malaysia for overstaying in Johor Baru

Wong Pei Qin, 28, was sentenced to eight months imprisonment after he pleaded guilty to the overstaying Under Section 15(1) (c) Immigration Act. PHOTO: ST FILE

PEKAN NENAS (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - A 28-year-old Singaporean was sentenced to eight months in prison for overstaying in Johor Baru for the past four years.

The accused, Wong Pei Qin, whose passport expired in Nov 2011, alleged that his passport was lost during a fight with his Thai girlfriend and had been living on the streets in Johor Baru.

He was arrested by security personnel at the Bangunan Iskandar Customs, Immigration and Quarantine complex at 6.15pm on Aug 22.

Sessions court judge Salawati Djambri sentenced Wong to eight months imprisonment after he pleaded guilty to the overstaying Under Section 15(1) (c) Immigration Act.

Meanwhile in another case, Judge Salawati also fined 21 Malaysians between RM1,500 and RM1,800 (S$486 and S$583) for leaving the country to work in Singapore without showing their passports to immigration officers at the Johor CIQ complex.

The accused, aged 21 and 62, including two women pleaded guilty to committing the offence at the motorcycle lane at the Johor CIQ at 9am on Sept 16.

However, all the suspects paid the fine. Most of the Malaysians are odd-job labourers in Singapore.

All the accused were not represented with Immigration prosecuting officer A. Vikneswaran handling the case.

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