Singapore to Jail and Cane Tug Crewmember for Aiding Human Smuggling
Singapore’s State Court handed down the punishment for a young Indonesian man who was accused of aiding in smuggling individuals illegally into the country while he had been working on a tugboat. The court ordered Febry Iswanto, age 23, to spend eight months in jail and to be caned, receiving three strokes for his role in the operation.
The Singapore Port Police conducted an operation at the Pulau Punggol Aggregate Terminal and arrested Ferby Iswanto and seven other foreign crewmembers on November 9 on charges that they had abetted persons to enter Singapore unlawfully. The former deckhand ultimately pleaded guilty to one count of aiding three people to enter the country illegally, while the police at last report were still investigating the other crewmembers for possible involvement in the scheme.
The former crewmember said he had begun working on the tug in March 2024 and became friendly with another crewmember, who was later discharged for poor performance. That former crewmember later contacted the defendant and offered to pay him approximately US$90 per person he helped to enter Singapore.
At the end of August, while the tugboat and the barge it was hauling were in Indonesia, a small boat carrying two people came alongside. The two individuals hid in the tug’s anchor compartment during the trip to Singapore. When they reached the terminal, the deckhand reported that he turned off the floodlights, retrieved the two individuals from the compartment, took them to the stern, and instructed them to swim to Singapore.
He told prosecutors that he was only paid about US$60 as the former crewmember who was the organizer of the plot told him only one person had made it to safety.
The tug and barge were back in Indonesia in October to haul a load of granite, and this time, three individuals were brought out on a small boat. The court papers indicated they hid on the barge for the trip to Singapore. Again, when they reached Singapore, the deckhand instructed the three individuals to swim to shore. He told the court he never got paid for helping these three people, who are believed to still be at large.
The police intervened, arresting the eight crewmembers while the tug and barge were at the terminal. The tug and barge were also seized as exhibits in the case.
Under Singapore law, if convicted, Febry Iswanto was facing a minimum of six months in jail and a maximum of two years. He was also liable for not less than three strokes of the cane.