Myanmar man, 43, who exited S’pore in car boot, returns 9 years later with fake passport, gets jail & caning

A 43-year-old Myanmar national was sentenced to 16 weeks’ jail and three strokes of the cane after he overstayed in Singapore and paid S$3,000 to be smuggled out of the country in the boot of a car.

The accused, Min Aung Ngwe Paing, pleaded guilty to two of four charges on Jun. 5, Shin Min Daily News reported.

The other charges were taken into consideration during sentencing.

Overstayed

In charge sheets seen by Mothership, Min entered Singapore on Sep. 23, 2013, and was issued a 30-day visit pass that expired on Oct. 23 of the same year.

He remained in Singapore illegally for 137 days after the expiry of his visit pass.

Min reportedly overstayed to look for work.

Smuggled out

According to Shin Min, he feared getting arrested.

He was then introduced to an unidentified man who agreed to help him leave Singapore illegally in exchange for S$3,000.

At about 11pm on Mar. 9, 2014, the pair met at a car park near Woodlands.

The man then instructed Min to hide in the boot of the car, saying he would drive him through Woodlands Checkpoint into Malaysia.

Min agreed and paid the man.

About 40 minutes later, he arrived in Johor Bahru, Malaysia.

He then travelled to Thailand by bus before eventually making his way back to Myanmar.

Returned to Singapore

After spending about nine years outside of Singapore, Min decided to return to the country on Nov. 14, 2024.

He reportedly returned to look for work due to the civil unrest in Myanmar.

Min paid approximately S$610 to an agent to obtain a passport with particulars that did not match his identity.

Arrested

On May 12, Min was arrested.

At the time of his arrest, he had overstayed in Singapore for about one year, five months and 28 days.

Min pleaded for leniency, saying that his parents were old and he hoped to return to Myanmar as soon as possible.