PONTIAN: A 31-year-old motorcyclist, who was rushing to work in Singapore, paid a hefty price for exiting Malaysia without getting his passport scanned at one of the two land checkpoints.
Sessions Court Judge Thalha Bachok @ Embok Mok fined Lee Choon Sheng RM7,000 after the accused pleaded guilty to the charge.
According to the charge sheet, the accused had allegedly opened up the barrier at a motorcycle lane at the Bangunan Sultan Iskandar Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) in Johor Baru at about 8.30am on May 25, while heading to work in Singapore.
He had exited the country without scanning his passport and allegedly committed an office under Section 2(2) of the Passport Act 1963.
The case was prosecuted by Immigration prosecutor Omar Zaridz Abd Rahman while the accused was not represented.
The accused, who faced a six month jail term in default of paying the fine, settled the amount.
Last year, at least four locals were nabbed for not just leaving the country without scanning their passports but also vandalising some of the equipment at the checkpoint.
A Home Ministry official advised the thousands of motorcyclists using the two land checkpoints with Singapore not to "resort to using shortcuts" when entering and exiting the country as it was a serious offence under the Immigration Act.
"The person faces a hefty fine or jail-time for those who do not stop and produce their passports when entering and exiting the country," the official said.
In the past, the immigration Department has nabbed and charged Malaysians and Singaporeans during special operations for travelling to Singapore without showing their passports at the two land check-points with the island republic.
