SINGAPORE - American singer Maggie Lindemann was arrested in Malaysia by Immigration Department officers for performing without a permit on June 21, three days before the cancellation of her Singapore show was announced.

The 20-year-old pop singer-songwriter was due to perform at the Esplanade Annexe Studio on June 26, which would have been her debut gig in Singapore.

Concert organisers Mode Productions, when announcing the cancellation on June 24, had then cited "unforeseen circumstances".

On Friday (July 5), Kuala Lumpur Immigration Department director Hamidi Adam told Malaysian news outlet The Star: "She was arrested for not having a professional visit pass at the time of the performance. She was then detained at Jalan Duta (Immigration KL office) for documentation purposes and was released with bail the next day."

He added that the concert's organiser pleaded guilty in court and was fined RM30,000 (S$9,840).

However, a day earlier on Thursday, Lindemann wrote on social media that she was detained and arrested while performing and "spent the next 5 days confined in a living hell".

According to online reports, Lindemann sang a few songs before her concert at The Bee, an F & B and event venue at Kuala Lumpur mall Publika Shopping Gallery, was stopped.

In her social media post, she apologised to her fans in Malaysia and the rest of Asia for not being able to complete her tour, which also included dates in Vietnam and the Philippines.

She added that she had "been advised not to say more at this time".

Lindemann is best known for her 2017 breakout single, Pretty Girl.

Her latest song, a new version of recent single Friends Go that features drummer Travis Barker from pop-punk band Blink-182, was released on the day she was arrested in Malaysia.

Lindemann's record company, Warner Music, declined to comment on her arrest when contacted by The Straits Times.