Woman, 40, used fake identity to work in S'pore, thumbprint found to match 2 names, gets 8 weeks' jail

UPDATE on Nov. 10 at 8:35am: This article was updated to reflect the correct sentence of eight weeks’ jail.

A woman, 40, from China, was sentenced to eight weeks' jail after she was found to have entered and worked in Singapore using a false identity and made false declarations during her visa applications.

Her ruse was discovered after checks found two different records bearing her thumbprint.

She was sentenced in court on Nov. 7.

What happened

The accused, Yu Xiaoming, faced 11 charges for immigration-related offences and pleaded guilty to two of them, with the rest taken into consideration by the judge during sentencing, Shin Min Daily News reported.

Investigations revealed that the Chinese national first travelled to Singapore on Jul. 4, 2006 using her real identity and made multiple visits subsequently.

In 2008, she wanted to find employment here, but was denied entry and deported after running into problems with her prospective employer.

Advised by friend to register for new passport

Back home, she took the advice of her friend and registered for a new passport under her relative's identity.

She registered the passport under the name "Liu Xiaolan" (transliteration) and entered Singapore on Nov. 27, 2008.

Between Dec. 9, 2008 and Sep. 5, 2013, she worked in Singapore with an employment pass registered under  "Liu Xiaolan".

On Sep. 8, 2013, she returned to China.

Returned to Singapore

About two years later on Aug. 25, 2015, she once again entered Singapore.

This time, she used her real identity and brought along her daughter to attend school in Singapore.

Applied for long-term visit pass multiple times

Between Oct. 20, 2015 and Apr. 12, 2025, Yu applied multiple times for a long-term visit pass.

In her applications, she lied that she had never entered Singapore under a false identity.

In January this year, the authorities scrutinised Yu's application, and found that her thumbprint also matched those of "Liu Xiaolan".

They launched further investigations and eventually discovered her offences.

Pleaded for leniency

For making false declarations in her visa application for close to 16 years, the prosecution sought eight to 12 weeks' jail for Yu.

A teary-eyed Yu pleaded for leniency and told the court that she was now a single mother following her divorce in 2024.

She had committed her offences as she wanted to give her daughter a better future, Yu said.

Her daughter, who was present during the hearing, also appeared emotional, Shin Min reported.

When meting out the sentence, the judge said the court sympathised with Yu's plight, and pointed out that she could be eligible for a remission of her sentence for good behaviour.

Yu was sentenced to eight weeks' jail.

The judge granted her request to spend two days with her daughter before commencing her jail term.

She will start serving her sentence on Nov. 10.

Top image via Shin Min Daily News, Canva