Singpore Immigration Crackdown On Illegals

[george]

116 immigration offenders including two Thais arrested in Singapore raid

SINGAPORE: -- Officers rounded up 116 people, mostly from Bangladesh, in the largest-ever single arrest raid by Singapore's Immigration and Checkpoints Authority, the ICA said Wednesday.

The immigration offenders were startled from their sleep by shouting and breaking of glass as ICA officers stormed a makeshift dormitory in an office building.

Although several clambered onto the soft ceiling boards above their double-decker beds in a desperate attempt to escape, the Tuesday raid had been well planned with the group under surveillance since October.

Of the 116 nabbed, 114 were men and two were women from Thailand. Fourteen were found to have valid immigration documents but were arrested for other violations, according to a breakdown in The Straits Times. The 102 immigration offenders, mostly from Bangladesh, were aged from 14 to 55 years old.

"As the numbers were large, the operation had to be very well planned to prevent escape and injury," Victor Tan, head of the ICA's intelligence division, was quoted as saying. "You could say it's a straight flush."

The last of the suspects were found in the ceiling after officers used bamboo poles to poke at the boards.

Double bunks lined the rooms, and mattresses covered the floor. They shared five toilet cubicles, and some of the rooms had faulty refrigerators.

The group had been living for months in 12 offices turned into dormitories. Several of the men hired themselves out as general workers.

Forty-four had rented the space from a Singaporean man and sublet the premises to the rest.

Those found guilty of overstaying or illegal entry can be jailed for up to six months and receive at least three strokes of the cane.

Anyone found guilty of knowingly harbouring an immigration offender faces a prison sentence of between six months and two years, and a 6,000-Singapore-dollar (3,550-U.S.-dollar) fine.

--DPA 2005-11-23