A Malaysian man was caught trying to leave Singapore illegally in the cargo compartment of a lorry on Friday (Jul. 19), according to the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA).

Both he and the driver were arrested.

Caught hiding in lorry

At around 12pm, ICA officers at Tuas checkpoint stopped a Malaysia-registered lorry that was leaving Singapore and directed it for further checks.

While checking the lorry, they found Mohamad Izuwan, 32, hiding inside the cargo compartment.

He did not have any travel documents with him.

Both he and the 44-year-old Malaysian driver, Ramesh Munusamy, were arrested.

They were subsequently charged in court on Jul. 20.

Driver also charged as an accomplice

Court documents showed that Izuwan was charged with failing to present his Malaysian passport to ICA officers before departing Singapore, while Ramesh was charged with abetting his departure, The Straits Times reported.

ICA emphasised that it takes a serious view of attempts to enter or depart Singapore illegally and will not hesitate to prosecute such offenders.

Tuas checkpoint commander Leong Mun Cheong said, “This detection is a testament to our officers’ vigilance and commitment in safeguarding Singapore’s borders."

He added that ICA will continue to maintain vigilance and conduct security checks at the checkpoints to prevent attempts to smuggle undesirable persons, drugs, weapons, explosives and other contrabands.

Top image from ICA