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[Vultan]

Lorry driver jailed for causing death and injuring 14 others

Published on May 21, 2013
By Elena Chong



A lorry driver was jailed for eight weeks and banned from driving for five years on Tuesday over a head-on collision with another lorry which claimed the life of one and seriously injured 14 others.

Periyasamy Jayaprakash, 25, an Indian national, admitted to causing the death of Mr Mathialagu Kathiravan, 19, a passenger in the rear cabin of the lorry, through his negligence along Tanah Merah Coast Road on July 3 last year.

Jayaprakash who came to court in a wheelchair also pleaded guilty to causing grievous hurt to the other lorry driver and 13 passengers by doing a negligent act to endanger life at about 6.20am that day.

All the victims, aged 22 to 36, are Indian nationals.

Get the full story from The Straits Times.

[Vultan]

Vietnamese woman, Singaporean man jailed for sham marriage

POSTED: 23 May 2013 9:17 PM



Theong Peng Nyuk (L) and Tran Kim Phuong (Photo: Immigration & Checkpoints Authority)

SINGAPORE: A Vietnamese woman and a Singaporean man have become the first couple to be prosecuted under a new law aimed at deterring marriages of convenience.

31-year-old Vietnamese, Tran Thi Kim Phuong, met a Singaporean man in 2009 while on holiday in Singapore and they were said to have fallen in love.

But the man was already married.

Between 2009 and 2011, Tran travelled to Singapore to be with him.

Desperate to stay in Singapore to be with the married Singaporean, Tran agreed to enter into a marriage of convenience with another man - 47-year-old Singaporean Theong Peng Nyuk.

Theong was promised a sum of S$5,000 and S$300 for every successful visit pass extension he helped to sponsor.

The couple subsequently "registered" their marriage on 31 January 2013.

After the solemnisation, they went their separate ways.

The couple would only meet up at the ICA Building when Tran needed to extend her Visit Pass.

Unknown to them, Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers had been keeping a close watch on them.

About two months later, Tran and Theong were arrested by ICA officers.

Cases of marriage of convenience have so far been charged under Section 57(1)(k) of the Immigration Act (IA) where the individuals are charged with making false statements in obtaining immigration facilities.

The penalties for the offence are a fine not exceeding S$4,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months, or both.

To send a strong deterrent message to individuals who are thinking of entering into a marriage of convenience for the purpose of obtaining an immigration facility, the IA was amended and a new Section 57C introduced.

This allows ICA to prosecute errant couples, middlemen or marriage agencies involved in marriages which are entered into for the purpose of illegally obtaining an immigration advantage, and applies to marriages registered on or after 19 December 2012.

This will include the grant of visas, visit passes, long-term passes and permanent residence.

The penalties for the offence are a fine of up to S$10,000 or jail for up to 10 years, or both.

Tran and Theong were the first couple to be prosecuted under the new Section 57C.

Both Tran and Theong were charged with two counts of making false statements to obtain a Visit Pass, an offence under Section 57(1)(k) of the IA, and one count of entering into a marriage of convenience, an offence under Section 57C(1) of the IA.

Tran was also charged with making false declaration in her Disembarkation and Embarkation card, an offence under Section 57(1)(k) of the IA.

Both Tran and Theong were convicted on 23 May and each sentenced to six months' jail.

- CNA/ir

[Vultan]

Man fined for stealing two $1K casino chips

Published on May 23, 2013



A Malaysian man was fined $3,000 on Thursday for stealing two pieces of $1,000 casino chips from a gambler. -- ST FILE PHOTO: ALPHONSUS CHERN

By Elena Chong

A Malaysian man was fined $3,000 on Thursday for stealing two pieces of $1,000 casino chips from a gambler.

Mong Wai Cheong, 34, pleaded guilty to theft of the chips from businessman Loi Kheng Chin, 49, at a Sic Bo table at Marina Bay Sands casino on May 15.

The court heard that Mr Loi placed two pieces of $1,000 chips on the "small'' betting area at the Sic Bo table. He left for the next table to gamble.

Just then, Mong saw the $2,000 cash chips and grabbed them. He left the casino but returned later to cash out the chips and left again.

Get the full story from The Straits Times.

[Vultan]

Two foreigners arrested for suspected illegal employment

POSTED: 24 May 2013 2:15 PM



SINGAPORE: Officers from the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) raided a number of shops in Little India on May 22 and arrested two foreigners on suspicion of illegal employment.

Code-named "Ops Night Strike", the blitz took place at about 6.30pm on Wednesday.

In a statement, MOM said its officers conducted enforcement checks on 12 shops along Kinta Road, Race Course Road and Race Course Lane in the exercise.

They checked a total of 46 persons, comprising 14 locals and 32 foreigners.

They found that two of the foreigners did not have valid work passes.

The two were arrested.

Three other foreigners were also brought in to assist with investigations on suspected false salary declarations.

In the first four months of 2013, a total of 381 foreigners were caught committing illegal employment offences during MOM's operations.

The maximum penalty for illegally employing foreign employees without valid work passes is S$30,000 fine or 12 months' imprisonment, or both.

The maximum penalty for making false declarations is S$20,000 fine or 24 months’ imprisonment, or both.

- CNA/fa