ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS

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ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS: 11.

Ms Braema Mathiaparanam asked the Minister for Home Affairs in view of the reports that Singapore has seen a 120 per cent increase in the number of illegal immigrants apprehended while trying to enter Singapore by sea, (a) what measures will his Ministry put in place to prevent such entries besides placing physical barriers at the Northeast and Northwest coasts of Singapore; and (b) what is the update in the effort to apprehend the traffickers bringing in these illegal immigrants.

The Senior Minister of State for Home Affairs (Assoc. Prof. Ho Peng Kee) (for the Minister for Home Affairs): Sir, Police arrested 133 illegal immigrants who tried to enter Singapore by sea in 2003 compared to 49 in 2002. As we have stepped up checks at the land checkpoints, more illegal immigrants are now trying to enter Singapore by sea.

This figure may seem alarming, but if we look at the overall immigration offender picture, the situation has actually been improving. Last year, the Home

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Team arrested about 11,850 illegal immigrants and overstayers which is 13% fewer than the 13,550 arrested in the year 2002. So, there is a drop. But the numbers are still large and we should not be complacent.

Let me describe the broader strategy that my Ministry has adopted to tackle the problem. Traffickers aid the illegal immigrants by physically conveying them to Singapore in vehicles or boats or by providing forged or tampered passports. This requires our enforcement agencies to be always on the alert at the checkpoints and in our coastal patrols.

Apart from erecting physical barriers at the Northeast and Northwest coasts of Singapore, the Police Coast Guard (PCG) implemented other measures to prevent such entries by sea. It has stepped up the frequency of their coastal patrols, acquired new high-speed patrol boats, and uses advanced equipment such as radar and electro-optical surveillance systems to monitor our waters and to intercept the illegal immigrants.

Our enforcement efforts have resulted in the seizure of 10 boats used by the traffickers last year, which is up from six boats seized in 2002. This has forced the traffickers to adopt desperate measures, such as asking the illegal immigrants to swim across the Straits to enter Singapore.

To detect illegal immigrants being smuggled into Singapore hidden in vehicles, the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) conducts visual checks on all vehicles entering Singapore. ICA has also deployed mobile X-ray machines at the land checkpoints to scan cargo vehicles. As a result of the stricter checks, fewer illegal immigrants now try to come in by land. This is reflected in the seizure of 17 vehicles and the arrest of 27 conveyors last year, a significant decrease from the 43 vehicles seized and 51 conveyors arrested in 2002.

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ICA has also acquired advanced forgery detection equipment. ICA detected about 1,700 immigration offenders attempting to enter or depart Singapore using forged or tampered passports last year. This is a decrease from the 2,170 detected in 2002, an indication that immigration offenders are now less inclined to risk using forged or tampered passports to enter or depart Singapore, as they know that they would be detected.

In addition, intelligence-led operations to counter forgery syndicates resulted in the arrest of 85 persons last year, compared to 28 persons in 2002. Follow-up investigations have led to the seizure of forged immigration rubber stamps, work passes, travel documents and computer equipment.

The Police and ICA regularly exchange information with their foreign counterparts on the abuse of travel documents, and the modus operandi and trends of human smuggling activities. ICA is an active participant in regional conferences, such as the Pacific Rim Immigration Intelligence Conference, which serves as a platform for members to share strategic and operational intelligence, and promotes international cooperation to combat human smuggling.

Sir, we have also sought the assistance of foreign missions in Singapore to help disseminate information of our strict immigration laws and our enforcement action to their nationals, to discourage them from trying to enter Singapore illegally. Cases of illegal immigrants being cheated by the traffickers are also being shared with the foreign missions to help them warn their nationals.

I cannot over-emphasise the critical role the public can play in helping to

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tackle the illegal immigration problem. Members of the public should not make Singapore attractive to immigration offenders by offering them employment or harbouring them. By doing so, more illegal immigrants will be encouraged to risk their lives to enter Singapore.

It is therefore important to spread the message that Singapore will not tolerate immigration offenders. Police and ICA have been working with the local media to raise public awareness of this issue. Our agencies issue media releases regularly when immigration offenders are arrested. We will continue to make use of programmes such as "Crime Watch" to feature the illegal immigration problem in Singapore and highlight the severe penalties imposed on immigration offenders, traffickers, harbourers and employers.

Ms Braema Mathiaparanam: Could I please ask about the specific area of cooperation with the State of Johor because most of them are swimming across and the snakeheads are operating in the coastal villages? The problem must be serious enough for us to erect fences. What is the level of effort there?

Assoc. Prof. Ho Peng Kee: The Police has a very good working relationshop with the Royal Malaysian Police, including, of course, its counterparts in Johor. It has been like this all these years, not just in the fight against illegal immigrants but on other fronts as well, and this will continue.