Singapore defends jail terms for people unwittingly sheltering illegals

THE Singapore government on today defended a tough law imposing jail terms on citizens found guilty of unwittingly harboring illegal immigrants.

The burden remains on landlords and employers to conduct checks on the employment and legal status of prospective tenants, said Home Affairs Minister Wong Kan Seng.

"The mandatory jail term is necessary to send a clear signal to all would-be offenders of our tough stance toward those who give shelter or work to immigration offenders," Wong told parliament.

Harboring illegal immigrants, even unintentionally, is punishable by a minimum jail term of six months in Singapore, which has strict laws governing illegal immigrants.

Wong said the jail sentence for convicted harborers and employers of illegal foreign workers "is not a new punishment," noting that it had been law since 1984.

"The scale of the problem is large. In 1998, about 23,000 immigration offenders were arrested, comprising 14,700 illegal immigrants and 8300 overstayers," Wong said.

The numbers remained "unacceptably high" last year with 17,000 arrested, he said.

The issue gained prominence following several cases in recent weeks where landlords rented out flats to illegal immigrants. One involved a church deacon who was sentenced by the chief justice this month to seven months in jail.

"By providing them work or a place to stay these employers and landlords make it harder for the authorities to find and catch immigation offenders," said Wong.

Increased enforcement has seen a rise in the number of persons arrested for employing or harboring illegal immigrants to 698 in 1999, from 230 in 1996, he said.