Johor immigration nabs Singaporean man who overstayed 13 years

JOHOR BARU, Feb 27 — A 34-year-old Singaporean man who overstayed here since 2011 was arrested by Johor Immigration Department officers in an operation yesterday.

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Johor Immigration Department director Baharuddin Tahir said the Singaporean national was arrested during an inspection at a premise in Jalan Wadihana here at 9.30am yesterday.

He said the man was detained together with a Bangladeshi man in the operation, dubbed Ops Bersama, following public complaints.

“immigration authorities took action based on complaints that foreigners were involved in building illegal structures on a public area without permission along Jalan Wadihana.

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“Based on preliminary checks, we found that the Singaporean man had overstayed in Malaysia since 2011.

“The Bangladeshi man, who was at the same location, was arrested for violating the conditions of his travel document," said Baharuddin in a statement last night.

It is understood that authorities will be investigating the Singaporean’s background and checking with their counterparts in the republic to see if he was a fugitive.

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For normal entry and exit travel, Singaporeans do not require a visa to enter Malaysia for up to 30 days.

In a separate operation held in Pasir Gudang, the Johor Immigration Department arrested two Indonesian men and a Pakistani man who were undocumented.

Baharuddin said all three were arrested under Section 6(1)(c) of the Immigration Act for not having any valid passport or permit to be in Malaysia.

He said they also committed violated Section 15 (1)(c) of the Immigration Act for overstaying and Rule 39(b) of the Immigration Regulations 1963 for violating the conditions of their travel documents.

“Immigration enforcement officers have also issued a notice to the premise owners to appear at the Johor Immigration Department’s office to assist in investigations.

“All detainees have been detained at the Setia Tropika Immigration Depot for investigation and further action,” he said.