S'pore to take tough stand against illegals

Home Affairs Minister Wong Kan Seng told parliament today: ``We cannot allow illegal immigrants into Singapore. They will pose a serious social and security problem for us.''

Illegal immigrants, he declared, would be arrested as illegal immigrants and suffer the standard punishment - jail and flogging (see below).

Last year authorities arrested about 13,000 immigration offenders.

Alarmed by the prospect of an exodus of economic refugees from Indonesia, authorities in Singapore have launched a massive crackdown on illegal immigration over the last two days, raiding coffee-shops, lodging houses, construction sites and provision shops in search of undocumented workers.

A spokesman confirmed today that police arrested more than 350 suspects in a two-day operation, including nationals from India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Thailand, China and Indonesia.

``We want to send a strong message to the illegal immigrants,'' said Director of Operations Leo Yip of the Singapore Police Force. ``If you have entered Singapore illegally, you will not be able to stay, hide or work here because the police will come after you.''

Penalties:

• For attempting to enter Singapore illegally, a person will be jailed for between three months and two years. He will also face a fine of up to $4,000.
• For entering Singapore illegally, the punishment is a jail term of up to six months and a minimum of three strokes of the cane. Those who cannot be caned can be fined up to $6,000.
• Boat operators convicted of abetting illegal immigrants to enter Singapore can be jailed for between six months and two years. They can also be fined up to $6,000.
• Boat operators convicted of engaging in the business of conveying illegal immigrants to Singapore face a jail term of between two and five years and at least three strokes of the cane.