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Two Bangladeshi men’s attempt to swim their way into Singapore in order to find a job were foiled after they were intercepted by police coast guard officers in Singapore waters.
The two men were later identified as Mamun, 39, and Alam, 35, reported Lianhe Zaobao.
Previously deported & banned from S’pore
According to court documents, Mamun was convicted of drug-related offenses back in 2018 while Alam was found guilty of entering Singapore unlawfully in July 2023.
As such, both of them were sentenced to jail and later deported to Bangladesh. They were also banned from re-entering Singapore without prior written permission from the Controller of Immigration.
In Aug of this year, fate brought the duo together after they became acquainted with each other through a mutual friend.
At that time, Alam expressed his desire to visit his nephew in Malaysia while Mamun was looking for a better job. Thus, on Oct 5, both of them flew to KL and were given a one-month visit pass.
They then took a bus to Batu Pahat, Johor, a week later, with Mamun still unable to secure a job.
Bangladeshi men swim from JB to SG to find jobs
Around Oct 18, Mamun caught sight of the track construction for the Rapid Transit System (RTS), a rail shuttle link project that’s slated to establish a direct route between Malaysia and Singapore.
This then gave him the idea of entering Singapore illegally by swimming along the track’s support pillars. It also drew the interest of Alam, who was looking to land a job in the city-island.
On Oct 20, both men left their hotel in Johor Bahru at 10pm and met at a shoreline where they could get a look of the RTS support pillars.
For the swim, Mamun equipped himself with a nine-litre plastic bottle that functioned as an improvised floating device, while Alam purchased cigarettes, a can of Red Bull, and drinking water.
After wrapping their belongings in plastic bags to protect it from the water and sharing the Red Bull, the men swam towards Singapore and took breaks at the scaffolding of the support pillars when their energy ran out.
Spotted by police coast guard
During the early hours of the morning on Oct 21, police coast guard saw the men swimming towards Singapore and intercepted them.
Mamun was apprehended at 5.01am while Alam was caught at the base of an RTS pillar eight minutes later.
Both men were found to have their Bangladesh passports on them and were arrested and remanded for entering Singapore illegally.
Jailed and caned for illegal entry
On Oct 29, Alam and Mamun pleaded guilty to charges framed under the Immigration Act.
As a result, Mamun was ordered to serve six weeks in jail and caned three times, while Alam was to be jailed for eight weeks and caned four times.
Under the Immigration Act, those found entering or leaving Singapore through an unauthorised point is deemed to have committed an offense.
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