Woman from China gets jail for overstaying in Singapore
A 60-year-old Chinese national has been sentenced on Monday (1 Sept) to six months imprisonment and a S$2,000 fine.
Yu Zefang was found guilty of overstaying in Singapore for more than 28 years, after first obtaining a student pass in April 1995.
She reportedly renewed this pass regularly until it expired in Sept 1996.
About a month later, Yu was arrested for drug use and her passport was confiscated.
Stayed to take care of young daughter
Following her arrest, Yu was granted a special pass by the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) pending the outcome of the investigation.
However, she failed to report to authorities as instructed, and was nowhere to be found when the pass expired in Nov 1996.
It was later revealed that her eight-year-old daughter had successfully applied for a student pass in Jan 1997, allowing her to study locally.
Yu then decided to stay in Singapore so she could take care of her daughter.
The daughter became a permanent resident in May 2008.
Woman surrendered herself after 28 years to return to China
Yu only surrendered herself to authorities on 30 Dec 2024, stating that she wanted to return to China.
By this time, she had overstayed in Singapore for 28 years, one month and 11 days from 20 Nov 1996.
In court, Yu’s lawyer asked for a more lenient sentence, noting that his client regretted her actions.
During sentencing, the judge considered the length of time she intentionally overstayed in Singapore, handing her a six-month jail term and a S$2,000 fine.
Also read: Jail for Indonesian men arrested with contraband after illegally landing on Pulau Tekong
Jail for Indonesian men arrested with contraband after illegally landing on Pulau Tekong
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Featured image adapted from MS News and Freepik.
