SINGAPORE — A man who was arrested by the Malaysian authorities for trying to enter the country illegally inside the boot of a car was charged last week.

Responding to TODAY’s queries, Singapore's Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) said on Thursday (March 7) that the suspect, a Singapore permanent resident in his 50s, had tried to enter Malaysia illegally on Dec 13.

He was prosecuted in a Singapore court on Feb 27.

Malaysian daily New Straits Times reported that the man was later deported to Singapore after serving a two-month jail term and paying a fine in Malaysia.

In a report dated March 4, the newspaper said that the man had paid two Malaysian women S$3,000 to smuggle him into Johor through the Customs, Immigration and Quarantine complex, which is on Malaysia's side of the Causeway.

The man was later caught by enforcement officers who were conducting routine inspections on imported goods. He told the officers that he was hoping to seek employment in Malaysia.

ICA said that after the man's repatriation from Malaysia, it conducted further investigations and prosecuted him for departing Singapore illegally.

The authority said that it takes a serious view of attempts to enter or depart Singapore illegally.

ICA did not state why it did not detect the man hiding in the boot of a car exiting Singapore, but said that it is a common practice internationally to take a "risk-managed approach" for departing vehicles, while focusing on arriving vehicles. 

Such an approach allows ICA to balance security checks and their impact on traffic and immigration clearance, while the random checks on departing vehicles help to deter and detect attempts to depart Singapore illegally, it added.