Abdul Munaf Bin Mohd Ismail (but charged as Kathar Abdul Gafoor) v Public Prosecutor

• Jurisdiction: Singapore
• Judge: Choo Han Teck J
• Judgment Date: 09 January 2004
• Neutral Citation: [2004] SGHC 4
• Court: High Court (Singapore)
• Year: 2004
• Published date: 05 May 2004
• Plaintiff Counsel: S Skandarajah and P Thirumurthy (Murthy and Co)
• Defendant Counsel: David Chew (Deputy Public Prosecutor)
• Subject Matter: Criminal Procedure and Sentencing,Revision of proceedings,Petitioner pleaded guilty to charge of entering Singapore without valid pass as an Indian national,Whether conviction and sentence could be set aside on the ground that petitioner could produce Malaysian passports and certificate of citizenship to show that he was a Malaysian citizen.
• Citation: [2004] SGHC 4

1 This is a petition by Abdul Munaf bin Mohd Ismail (“the petitioner”), who was charged and convicted in the District Court on his plea of guilt to a charge of committing an offence under the Immigration Act (Cap 133, 1997 Rev Ed), to set aside his conviction and sentence. The petitioner says that he is a 58-year-old Malaysian citizen. His wife who is 44 years old is in India, but his father-in-law, Dawood Hamardin, who deposed that he is 72 years old, is a Singapore citizen. He is a retired hawker.

2 The petitioner was charged in District Arrest Case No 55723 of 2003 as Kathar Abdul Gafoor. He pleaded guilty to the charge under s 6(1)(c) of the Immigration Act for entering Singapore without a valid pass. He admitted, without qualification, the facts set out in the Statement of Facts, which is a short four-paragraph statement, reproduced here for easy reference:

1 The Accused, an Indian national, 40 years of age, was detained by Enforcement Officers from Field Ops 2 Branch (ICA) on 11.11.2003 at the vicinity of Blk 248 Simei Street 1, Hola Cafeteria, when he was suspected of being in possession of a photo-substituted Malaysian Restricted passport.

2 Investigations revealed that the Accused wished to enter Singapore in order to seek employment. As he was unable to obtain a visa to enter Singapore directly on his own Indian passport, Accused through some prior arrangement, was to be given a false Malaysian Restricted Passport to enable him to enter Singapore. Accused accepted the arrangement to enter Singapore unlawfully by passing himself off as one Malaysian named ABDUL MUNAF BIN MOHD ISMAIL. Sometime in August 2002, whilst in Malaysia, a male Indian known to him as “RAMU” gave him a Malaysian Restricted Passport No J675185. The said “RAMU” also assured Accused that he would not have any problem entering Singapore as his photograph was affixed on the said Malaysian Restricted Passport.

3 Further investigation revealed that the Accused on 30 October 2003, used the said Malaysia Restricted Passport to enter Singapore through the Woodlands Checkpoint. The Immigration officer unaware that the Accused had produced to him a photo-substituted [Malaysian] travel document that did not belong to him, allowed the Accused to enter Singapore on a 14-day Visit Pass, which was not lawfully issued to him.

4 The Accused, by passing himself off as the said ABDUL MUNAF BIN MOHD ISMAIL had obtained a Visit Pass, which was not lawfully issued to him....