Six Indonesian men were jailed for up to 21 months and caned on Jan 26 after attempting to illegally re-enter Singapore despite having been previously repatriated.
According to CNA, the men — Asrarudin, Brick, Hardi, Ismaun, M Amrin and Muamar Imran, aged between 23 and 29 — were arrested in December 2025 after their wooden sampan sank while they were trying to evade the Police Coast Guard (PCG).
Investigations revealed that Asrarudin had travelled to Batam in November 2025 and expressed his intention to enter Singapore illegally for work. He later gathered the other five men, including his friend Brick, and the group purchased a wooden sampan for 15 million rupiah (about S$1,136) via Facebook.
The men departed from a beach in Batam’s Sekupang district at around 6pm on Dec 20, 2025. However, rough sea conditions and Asrarudin’s lack of experience in operating a vessel caused delays during the journey.
At about 12.40am on Dec 21, PCG officers spotted the sampan in waters off Tanah Merah. When officers attempted to intercept the boat, Asrarudin tried to flee by steering between anchored vessels.
The sampan eventually became flooded and sank. PCG officers rescued all six men before the boat went completely under, after which they were arrested.
Further checks showed that all six men had previously been repatriated from Singapore between 2022 and 2025 for immigration-related offences. They were required to obtain approval from the Controller of Immigration before re-entering Singapore and had acknowledged their re-entry bans.
All six pleaded guilty to two charges each — illegal entry into Singapore and unlawful return after removal. They were sentenced to between one year and one year nine months’ jail, along with four to 10 strokes of the cane.
Brick, who had five prior immigration-related convictions, received the heaviest sentence of one year nine months’ jail and 10 strokes of the cane.
