4 Indonesian men sneak into Singapore by boat -- but get caught with smuggled cigarettes on Pulau Tekong
Shaffiq Alkhatib
The Straits Times
July 22, 2025
Three Indonesian men who were earlier jailed in Singapore over immigration offences and then sent out of the country decided to return here illegally in May to seek employment.
The trio and a fourth Indonesian man who brought them here by boat were later found by Singapore's Police Coast Guard (PCG) officers on Pulau Tekong.
In a joint statement in May, the Singapore Police Force and the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority said that contraband cigarettes were also seized in the operation.
On July 22, Ripan, 28, Mahyudin, 32, Ridwan Akarin, 50, and Asmin Alexander, 50, were given their sentences.
Ripan, who goes by one name, was sentenced to a year and three months' jail and six strokes of the cane.
Ridwan was sentenced to a year and nine months' jail with a fine of $6,000. He will spend 40 more days behind bars if he cannot pay the fine.
Each man had pleaded guilty to two immigration-related charges.
Mahyudin, who also goes by one name, and Asmin each pleaded guilty to two immigration-related charges and a charge linked to contraband cigarettes.
Mahyudin was sentenced to a year and eight months' jail and six strokes of the cane.
Asmin was ordered to spend a year and a month behind bars and was fined $2,000. He will have to spend an additional 13 days behind bars should he fail to pay the fine.
Ridwan and Asmin cannot be caned as such a punishment cannot be meted out to men who are at least 50 years old.
Without revealing details, Deputy Public Prosecutor Maximilian Chew told the court that Ripan, Mahyudin and Ridwan were separately convicted of immigration offences in Singapore between 2021 and 2024.
The trio were sent out of Singapore after serving their sentences.
They later decided to return here, and plans were made to transport them to an area near Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal, where an unnamed person would receive them.
Ripan, Mahyudin and Ridwan each paid 5 million rupiah (S$390) to a man in Batam, called Ardy, who engaged Asmin to operate a sampan to transport the trio to Singapore.
Singapore Customs prosecutor Dzulemryl Bachok said that before making the trip to Singapore, Mahyudin saw four boxes wrapped in black plastic in the motorised boat.
Ardy told him that they contained contraband cigarettes.
Ardy also instructed Mahyudin to call him upon his arrival in Singapore. The court heard that Ardy would get someone to collect the boxes from Mahyudin.
PCG detected the sampan, which was fitted with an engine, in the sea off Pulau Tekong shortly before 1.30am on May 17.
When Mahyudin spotted the patrol vessels, he told Asmin to stop at the island to avoid detection and arrest, said Mr Dzulemryl.
"After arriving at (Pulau Tekong, all four men) alighted from the boat and hid at a nearby forested area, where they were subsequently found by the PCG officers," the Customs prosecutor said.
More than 260 cartons of contraband cigarettes were later uncovered, the court heard.
