SINGAPORE - Two Sri Lankan men were sentenced to eight months' jail last Thursday (July 5) for owning fake British passports.

Nagamany Kangatharan, 46, and Kandasamy Niththiyananthan, 27, were nabbed by Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers at the transit area of Changi Airport Terminal 3 in June.

In a statement on Monday, ICA said that Nagamany and Kandasamy were seeking employment outside of Sri Lanka, and sought help from a Sri Lankan agent to make the arrangements.

Investigations revealed that the agent arranged for their trip to London via Singapore at prices between 330,000 Sri Lankan rupees (S$2,800) and 1 million rupees.

The duo flew from Colombo to Singapore using Sri Lanka passports, arriving on June 18.

The next day, they met a 31-year-old Malaysian man, Ihsan Ismie Ishak, who handed them the fraudulent British passports.

The passports contained the two men's photos but had particulars that did not belong to them.

At Changi Airport Terminal 1, Nagamany attempted to collect his boarding pass at the check-in counter while Kandasamy observed him.

However, Nagamany was seen leaving the counter hastily, as the ticketing officers took longer than usual to process his boarding pass.

Both men then decided to abort their travel plan to London and return to Colombo via Terminal 3.

They met Ihsan Ismie at Terminal 3's transit area, but the three men were quickly arrested by ICA officers who received information about the case.

Ihsan Ismie was sentenced to eight months' jail on June 28, the statement said.

ICA said that it takes a serious view of those who possess fraudulent travel documents or abet others in committing the offence.

Those found guilty may be sentenced to a maximum of 10 years in prison, fined up to $10,000 or both.