JOHOR BARU: Two Singaporeans and an Indian national motorcyclist have been arrested for attempting to leave Malaysia illegally through a major land checkpoint in separate incidents.
All three men, in their 20s and 30s, were detained by the Immigration Department several days ago and are now under remand as investigations continue.
In the first case, the Singaporean allegedly entered Johor Baru without having his passport stamped.
He was caught while trying to exit the country, claiming he had taken a wrong route.
However, investigations suggested that he had entered using an unmanned motorcycle lane at the Bangunan Sultan Iskandar Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (BSI) complex.
The second incident involved two men, another Singaporean and an Indian national, who were also riding a motorcycle.
Both were stopped after checks revealed that they had no entry records in the system.
Security officials confirmed that all three are being investigated under Section 6(1)(C) of the Immigration Act for entering the country without valid documentation.
If convicted, they face up to RM10,000 in fines, a maximum of five years’ jail, and up to six strokes of the cane.
An official said foreigners must understand that it is an offence to enter or exit Malaysia without presenting their passports.
Police reports have been filed in connection with both incidents, a police source confirmed.
In previous cases, local motorcyclists rushing to work have also faced stiff penalties for failing to scan their passports.
Some were even caught forcefully opening lane barriers at the BSI checkpoint during peak hours.
The official issued a stern warning to the thousands of motorcyclists using the land routes between Malaysia and Singapore not to resort to shortcuts.
The Immigration Department has also carried out special operations to clamp down on Malaysians and Singaporeans attempting to bypass passport checks at both BSI and the Second Link.
