Myanmar man hid in car boot to flee S’pore, returned 9 years later with fake passport
A Burmese man who paid $3,000 to hide in a car boot and leave Singapore illegally returned nearly nine years later using a fake passport, only to be arrested after overstaying again.
Shin Min Daily News reported that Min Aung Ngwe Paing, 43, was sentenced on June 5 after pleading guilty to offences under the Immigration Act.
According to court documents, he entered Singapore through Changi Airport on Sept 23, 2013 on a 30-day social visit pass.
However, after his pass expired, he remained here illegally in hopes of finding work.
Paid $3,000 to hide in car boot
Fearing arrest by the authorities, Min arranged through an intermediary to leave Singapore illegally in March 2014.
On the night of March 9, 2014, he met a man at a car park near Woodlands and paid him $3,000.
The man instructed Min to hide in the vehicle’s boot and said he would drive through the Woodlands Checkpoint into Malaysia.
About 40 minutes later, Min arrived in Johor Bahru. He then travelled by bus to Thailand before eventually returning to Myanmar.
Came back with fake passport
After remaining outside Singapore for about nine years, Min decided to return to Singapore amid unrest in Myanmar and seek employment here.
He paid about $610 to an agent to obtain a passport under a false identity.
Using the fake passport, he entered Singapore through Changi Airport on Nov 14, 2024.
He remained in Singapore illegally for one year, five months and 28 days before being arrested on May 12, 2026.
During mitigation, Min said his parents were elderly and asked the court for leniency so he could return home sooner.
He was sentenced to 16 weeks’ jail and three strokes of the cane.
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