Man arrested for trying to flee Singapore in stolen motorised sampan

The motorised sampan which was stolen by the suspect. PHOTO: SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE

SINGAPORE - A 32-year-old man was arrested by the Police Coast Guard (PCG) for suspected theft of a motorised sampan and attempting to leave Singapore unlawfully on Tuesday (May 17).

In a statement on Wednesday, PCG said it had detected a sampan rowing towards Malaysia in the sea off Lim Chu Kang at about 10.33pm on Tuesday.

It immediately deployed both land and sea resources, with a PCG craft successfully intercepting the sampan at about 10.57pm. The suspect was arrested onboard.

Follow-up investigations revealed that the man is believed to have stolen the sampan in his bid to flee Singapore.

If convicted for the offence of theft, the suspect could be jailed for three years or hit with a fine, or both.

Any person guilty of an offence under the Immigration Act for which no special penalty is provided may be fined up to $2,000 or imprisoned for up to six months, or both.

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