Singapore: Man jailed for harbouring immigration offender, who fell to death while evading arrest

• Published date: 28 May 2022
• Publication title: Malay Mail Online

A 47-year-old man has been jailed for eight months for harbouring a China national who had overstayed here since 2014 and died after climbing out of a window and falling four storeys while evading arrest two years ago.

Chan Kok Keong, a Singaporean, had not exercised due diligence to check if his friend Gong Xiuxian's immigration pass was valid.

The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) said in a news release today that Chan had rented two units located at Kembangan Plaza and Eunos Crescent and then signed tenancy agreements to allow Gong to live in and manage the units from July to September 2019 and October 2019 to November 2020 respectively.

Media reports stated that Gong was a 41-year-old woman who worked as a private masseuse from her home and sold apparel at market stalls.

Chan claimed that he did not verify if Gong's immigration status in Singapore was valid because he had assumed that she held a valid dependant's pass, which is issued to a family member of a work pass holder here.

However, investigations revealed that Gong had overstayed in Singapore since 2014.

Earlier reports stated that ICA officers received an anonymous complaint in October 2020 about Gong overstaying in Singapore.

The next month, when ICA officers conducted checks on the Eunos Crescent public flat, Gong tried to evade the arrest by climbing out from the bedroom window.

She fell off the window ledge to the ground floor and was pronounced dead on-site by paramedics.

Her death was pronounced 'an unfortunate misadventure' by Coroner Kamala Ponnampalam in her findings issued in September 2021, media...