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Spike in sham marriages, contraband smuggling cases in 2017: ICA

SINGAPORE — The number of sham marriages and contraband smuggling cases rose last year, even as the number of immigration offenders continued its downtrend.

The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) Building. TODAY file photo

The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) Building. TODAY file photo

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SINGAPORE — The number of sham marriages and contraband smuggling cases rose last year, even as the number of immigration offenders continued its downtrend.

Releasing its annual statistics report on Thursday (Feb 8 ), the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) said marriage of convenience (MOC)-related offences registered a 23.3 per cent jump, with 53 offenders convicted in 2017, up from 43 people in 2016.

Between July and December last year, ICA investigators arrested 12 persons in one particular case.

The Singaporean men, aged between 24 and 57, entered into sham marriages for monetary rewards. The Vietnamese women, aged between 23 and 34, engaged in MOCs with these men to prolong their stay in Singapore.

Ten of them have been convicted and sentenced to jail terms ranging from six to 18 months. The court proceedings for the remaining two persons are ongoing.

The number of contraband smuggling cases went up 2.6 per last year to 90,327, up from 88,050 in 2016, representing an average of 247 smuggling attempts at Singapore’s checkpoints daily, the ICA said.

The agency also flagged the use of heavy commercial vehicles for smuggling contraband items as a trend of concern, given that “the sheer size of such vehicles means that large quantities of contraband items or even dangerous materials such as toxic industrial chemicals can be concealed within the consignments or modified compartments of these vehicles”.

“In light of the current security climate, security at our checkpoints is ICA’s top priority … ICA will continue to devote as much resources as needed to thwart attempts to smuggle undesirable persons, drugs, weapons, explosives or other contraband items through our borders,” said a spokesperson.

“With the Chinese New Year approaching, we expect an increase in the number of travellers and goods passing through our checkpoints,” said Commissioner of ICA Clarence Yeo.

“Despite stringent checks, smuggling attempts have not abated. As such, we urge the community to be alert and collaborate with us to keep Singapore safe and secure.”

Continuing its decline last year, the number of immigration offenders in the Republic went down 8 per cent, from 1,278 in 2016 to 1,176 in 2017.

Among the immigration offences committed last year, 186 were illegal immigrants, which also was a decline of 14.3 per cent, from 217 in 2016.

Similarly, the number of overstayers arrested last year dipped 6.7 per cent to 990, from 1,061 in 2016.

While the total number of harbourers arrested declined by 17.6 per cent to 252 in 2017, from 306 in 2016, the number of employers arrested for hiring immigration offenders increased slightly by 6.7 per cent to 48, from 45 in 2016.

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