Malaysian who passed boarding pass to another for flight to Berlin jailed

An unemployed Malaysian agreed to hand over a boarding pass in his name to another man to enable the latter to fly to Germany, in exchange for money.

The other person, who is from Sri Lanka, wanted to go to Berlin for better job opportunities.

The pair met at Changi Airport - after flying in from Kuala Lumpur and Colombo separately on Feb 10 - and the exchange was done in a toilet.

Yesterday, the Malaysian man, Thasrathan Jegatheson, 49, pleaded guilty to a cheating charge in court and was sentenced to four months' jail.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Chong Kee En told the court that Mohanathas Kaniyamuthan, 26, engaged a human trafficking syndicate in January this year, with his family paying about $13,300.

In February, Thasrathan received a call from a man named Raja, a passenger he had met while working as a flight attendant, asking if he wanted to participate in the arrangement.

Although Thasrathan knew the job which would see him get paid was illegal, he agreed, due to his financial circumstances.

Thasrathan gave Raja details, which included his passport number and serial code.

He was asked to take a Covid-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test and pass the result to Mohanathas.

Mohanathas was instructed to collect the boarding pass and other travel documents from Thasrathan in Singapore in exchange for US$1,000 (S$1,360) cash, and then use a forged passport in Thasrathan's name to travel to Berlin.

The two were told how the other man looks like and to communicate only by gestures.

They met at Transfer Area B of Changi Airport and made the exchange while in adjoining cubicles in the toilet.

After they parted ways, Mohanathas was arrested by Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers. Court documents do not indicate why he was hauled up.

The officers found the boarding pass to Berlin and travel documents handed to him by Thasrathan. They also found the forged passport in a special compartment in his luggage.

Thasrathan, who had gone for a meal and a smoke, was later arrested by ICA officers.

DPP Chong asked for four to five months' imprisonment for Thasrathan. In his written sentencing submissions, he said: "(Thasrathan) flew to Singapore for the express purpose of the fraud... The entire operation was carefully premeditated, and (Thasrathan) kept in close contact with Raja throughout, directing the operation."