Man gets jail, caning for smuggling into Singapore 5 people who remain at large
The Indonesian called the stowaways "kambing" so that others would not understand what he and his accomplice were discussing.
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SINGAPORE: An Indonesian man was sentenced to eight months' jail and three strokes of the cane for immigration offences by a Singapore court on Wednesday (Dec 17).
Febry Iswanto, 23, abetted five people to enter Singapore illegally in August and October this year. The five individuals, who are unknown, remain at large.
He pleaded guilty to a charge under the Immigration Act, with a second similar charge considered in sentencing.
From March 2024, Febry was employed on an Indonesian-registered tugboat that towed a barge. He got to know a fellow worker named Jefryansyah.
Sometime before Aug 31 this year, Febry received a text message from Jefryansyah, who had been fired last year for poor performance.
Jefryansyah offered Febry 1.5 million rupiah (S$115) for each person he managed to smuggle into Singapore.
Febry knew this was illegal, but accepted the offer because he wanted money to fund his hobby of modifying his motorcycle.
The two men discussed their plan to get the stowaways to enter Singapore, referring to them as "kambing" (Indonesian for "goat") so other people would not understand what they really meant.
Between Aug 28 and 29, while the tugboat and barge were en route to Singapore and still in Indonesian waters, two people in a sampan came alongside and boarded the vessels.
The identities of the two people are unknown, but they were not Singaporeans and did not satisfy the conditions of entry into Singapore, the prosecution said.
The two people hid inside the anchor compartment of the vessels, which arrived at Pulau Punggol Aggregate Terminal to unload granite on Aug 30.
At about 2.45am on Aug 31, Febry turned off the floodlights on the vessels and called to the two people, who emerged from hiding.
He brought them to the stern of the vessels and told them to swim to mainland Singapore and hide in a forested area.
Sometime later, Febry learnt from Jefryansyah that only one of the two persons had reached the "safe place", and he would only be paid 1 million rupiah.
In October, Jefryansyah again approached Febry to smuggle three people to Singapore, promising him 1.5 million rupiah for each successful entry.
A similar operation took place on Oct 25, with the three people pulling up in a sampan, boarding the vessels and hiding in the anchor compartment.
The tugboat and barge arrived at Pulau Punggol Aggregate Terminal the same day, and the three people disembarked in the early hours of Oct 26.
Febry was not paid for his involvement in the October operation. No details were disclosed on why this was so.
On Nov 9, acting on information that the crew of the vessels had helped three people to enter Singapore illegally, the Police Coast Guard arrested the crew.
The prosecutor pointed out that Febry's offences were premeditated and well-planned, and that he was motivated by monetary gain.
He also noted that Febry took steps to hide his offending, such as by using code words with Jefryansyah and letting the stowaways off the vessels under the cover of night.
Speaking through an interpreter, Febry asked the court for the lightest sentence possible.
"I'm the only child of the family and I'm contributing to my family's financial needs," he said, adding that he would not offend again.
The punishment for intentionally aiding a person to enter Singapore illegally is six months to two years in prison and not less than three strokes of the cane.
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