PEKAN NENAS (Johor) • A Singaporean has been fined RM2,500 (S$820) in a Johor court for not showing his passport when exiting Malaysia.

Manager Muhammad Alfalah Mohd Yusof, 27, said in mitigation: "Sorry, I did not get enough rest and was too tired and forgot to stop and show my passport." He was among four Singaporeans at the Sessions Court in Pekan Nenas who were either fined or jailed for committing various immigration offences.

Judge Zahilah Mohammad Yusoff fined Alfalah after he pleaded guilty to committing the offence at the Sultan Abu Bakar Customs, Immigration and Quarantine Complex (CIQ) at the Second Link on June 25.

He was charged under Section 2 (2) of the Passports Act 1966, which carries a maximum fine of RM10,000, five years' imprisonment, or both, upon conviction.

In the other cases involving Singaporeans, the judge jailed Fajar Razali, 38, who is unemployed, and his wife Nur Atiqka Ridzuan, 25, a housewife, for a month for overstaying in Malaysia. They were unable to pay their fine. Businessman Stanley Neo Cheow, 37, who overstayed in Malaysia for about 55 days, was fined RM10,000.

All three committed their offences at the Bangunan Sultan Iskandar CIQ in Johor Baru on June 21 and 27. The three, who were charged under Section 15(1) (c) of the Immigration Act, faced a fine of RM10,000, a jail term of five years, or both, on conviction. They were unrepresented.

THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK