ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION TO SINGAPORE SIEW HOON TAN A thesis submitted in fulfillment Of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts School of History and Philosophy University of N.S.W February, 2009 ~~ ntf! UN~!IIT'f(W' _ tovlll 'fIl,lIU.I n IPllI .... ' _.r ...... _r..... - fW __£WHODN ~,- 'It • .""............._" ... -- _ ItlllOllY ~ _ 08l)II0('>' .. ~ - r......, N\'TII KICW. 8ClENC£1 r.. U£OotC. ~T1CH ..lIlNGM'CIIt: - I ~gapore 1& I COWltry built entllety by m!gram.. The topic of ~mlon thus fonm a very mpolUnc put of the hlsllCNy of SIngapore, In wllkh mudllftftrth IIn bMn <!oM. Ho.,•.,. one uPKt of the "lOde< " migration h"'tory of Sl~ hill not been _Il-.tudild, and tMI .. -.gal Immlgtllltkln. SIne, centuries 8gO, ~~ been smUO\lItd Ofl" very W;J~'" th.t modem 51"0'110'" _ Its prospertty to. Today, people .... ~ll enlltring and Illting the ~ntry c:lolIndesdnaly Iaing the __ w,",.",ys. Ho••••r. _ tKhnology dI.lICi'P'I. ttll ~by which ltIeH ~.. UH to Inter SingapoR c:IIMMllnely .re eonsmntly cIwInglng. R~1eM of the ehangot In methods, loch c:llIndestlM mlgntlXln on.n lnvol¥ft; gI'Mt clang....nd hardship for ItIoM who d.... to .,.,blltlf on lhe founwy. Jutt .. lhe WlIy It w.. In lhe pIIll. This III 1...ln man ~ I' SlnglpoN tum. from • colony to In lndl!*'dent eotlnlry, .nd II the Independent oov-mmll1t InctNllngly ufi'Cls.. mOAl control on lhe typll of Immlgl1lnts It .1I0WI Into Its ~nt to MIp tth tht c:ountry to IItHter heights In term. of ~perlty, Immlgrltlon polk:l...rod 1._ thllS bKome "".-tuned .od people who I,. d..m.d "undnlr.bla" .re f11t&rtd out. The "rlcl IrNlI did not, how.....r, dlter som. people from anterlng the country In ...reIl of e good JotIencle bMter 11r.. Ae SlrtgepoN lIJUlS ItHIf to llICelve mOft llIogel mlgrente, It m.,.t ello be prlplNd to take meuu,," eg,lnel 11.1 lmmlgr....te. IIlegel Immlgntlon le therefono • conllnuoue blIttJe belWNn the ".lIhol1l1.. eod the lllllogel mlgrente. Through the ... of ofYkl.ll end unotrklel lSocumente end public rHOUlt:K, aome of which ,re not ..sly obtaN~, !hie. !hKIto trlle" the d.....IoI:m.nl of 11.1 Immlgntlon from , hletol'luJ eonte"t end tIlplorK the life of the I/Ieg•• mlgnnta In SIng'PON to .. to fill In the gII~ on ,n uncler4t:ucl1ecl topk, , .... K the eh,. In mind.... mlgnnlS-tum..:kltb:en, h'.... toor....~ mlgl1lnte, In an ,1Iarnpt to u.e, hl.torteel sPf)f'OK.h to eaptsln the ".ue ofthe .ode' phenomet 1011 of IIIeg101 mlgretion 10 SInDaPON. 1~",."l,R."," ___••__""".__• __"'_.' , .. _ ... ...-,""" ................--_.,....,_........._ __..__......• _____.. __.......(_._._1p. c ..fwe...I: _""'......... _ _,_...._, I __~ -- " ••_ ..___....,._..llI= •, ..... _,..,' I.... il' "._ e "N.<...ou "1 TIoo..-.., •••_ ......,.._., otI ____,__,.... ~.... .... _,,_ ... ,_"', , ••_..::--.. 2 ___.._ .......... --001...... ;1'001 __..... ", ... o-..._iIl_iIl_ .... _......,.__ ..., .... IOil 0ri'iCit \IlK OM.'f 5001 .. /I ,Iii'........-..._ ORIGlN4UTY ST4TEMENT 'I ","eby <litcIar. lh8I Ine M1bmlssion Is my own WO<k Brd 10 Itw IMIll of my IuIoo<tedge H COlIlaIniI no ........... ~'ouIIy poJ>isMd or wm.n by 800IIIer ~, Of wbll..,1la/ p<1)llOIlionl of ~) vmich ""ve been _led !or 11'I• .....rd 01 any olher d8lJM Of diploma 1JI UNSW Of q 0Ih« ldutoallotlBl Inlllvtion. eJ<COPt ..mere ~ ......-wg.mlll'll iI oNde In ltIe 1/lHIIa. Ally ~..- 10 h ....-dI by olhe<8. wilh whom I '- ""Of1<ed ,t UNSW or els.'tlIl•.•I~ ldum.i..... ~in IhlI u-la. lllso dIdwIltwt Ihe I.....e .. __ of 111........ " fie pvduct '" my own -". p;:epl to Ihe 1>:I1lIl1l\all asslsWIc.e t'om 0Ihtn .. Iht ptllJedl desogn Md _'CArp.lOll Of :'~PI M.~~I ~~. ,__ ~_. •• _M"'" _'M_~__.__M_._·_... ·M ---_.__.-_._--___0 _.. .-'.--,---_.__.~_.­...._._-_._._..---_._­. ---._-_.--_._---_--,---_.__...._._-­.......-......_---....... "__.-£1..--- __ V ,-"" - .. _ ....... -1 ---.__ .._--_... .. .. ..... ..--__._-_....-_._..,........-- _._-­-_..-.. _... _ 6/ ••..". - ABSTRACT Singapore is a country built entirely by migrants. The topic of migration thus forms a very important part of the history of Singapore, in which much research has been done. However, one aspect of the modern migration history of Singapore has not been well- studied, and that is illegal immigration. Since centuries ago, people have been smuggled on the very waterways that modern Singapore owes its prosperity to. Today, people are still entering and exiting the country clandestinely using the same waterways. However, as technology develops, the methods by which these people use to enter Singapore clandestinely are constantly changing. Regardless of the change in methods, such clandestine migration often involves great danger and hardship for those who dare to embark on the journey, just as the way it was in the past. This is even more so as Singapore turns from a colony to an independent country, and as the independent government increasingly exercises more control on the type of immigrants it allows into its borders to help take the country to greater heights in terms of prosperity. Immigration policies and laws thus become fine-tuned and people who are deemed “undesirable” are filtered out. The strict laws did not, however, deter some people from entering the country in search of a good job and a better life. As Singapore gears itself to receive more legal migrants, it must also be prepared to take measures against illegal immigrants. Illegal immigration is therefore a continuous battle between the authorities and the illegal migrants. Through the use of official and unofficial documents and public resources, some of which are not easily obtainable, this thesis traces the development of illegal immigration from a historical context and explores the life of the illegal migrants in Singapore so as to fill in the gaps on an under-studied topic, as well as the change in mindsets migrants-turned-citizens have towards new migrants, in an attempt to use a historical approach to explain the issue of the social phenomenon of illegal migration to Singapore. i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my gratitude to my supervisor, Associate Professor Jean Gelman Taylor for her guidance, kind understanding and great patience. I could find no suitable word to express how greatly I am indebted to her. Without her advice, support and encouragement, I would not have been able to complete this thesis. I would also like to thank my co-supervisor, Dr Mina Roces, for her kind support and suggestions to improve this thesis, and staff members of the School of History who have been so kind to render administrative assistance to me during the period of my study. Special thanks go out to Mr Richard Magnus, former Senior District Judge of the Subordinate Courts for his encouragement, and to Mr Lau Wing Yam, former Registrar of the Subordinate Courts of Singapore, who has kindly permitted me to use the resources of the Research and Resource Centre of the Subordinate Courts during the initial period of my research and who has been very supportive, as well as to my superior, Mr Daniel Ang Teck Heng, and ex-superior, Mr Tan Swan Liang, for their support and understanding. Thanks also to the staff members of the Research and Resource Centre who have been extremely kind and helpful. I must also thank Professor Anthony Reid, former Director of the Asian Research Institute, National University of Singapore, who has given me his kind support when I was back in NUS for my research and also Associate Professor Bruce Lockhart for arranging for me to be a visiting graduate student at the Department of History. I also appreciate the kind assistance rendered by the staff of Institute of Southeast Asian Studies Library. I must also acknowledge kind assistance of the court journalists, many of whom have given me invaluable help in sourcing for news articles regarding my research, as well as my colleagues and ex-colleagues from the Interpreters’ Sections who would keep me informed of unique court cases regarding my thesis topic. Very special thanks also to the people who have contributed to the resource materials in this thesis and whom I have spoken to but who have asked to keep their identities confidential. I really appreciate their help, though I am not able to name them here. I would also like to thank my friends who have helped me in some way or another during the period of my research, especially Mr James Tan Swee Thiam, Mr Goh Hock Huan, and Ms Chen Shiyan, and last but not least, my family for the support they provided me through my entire life and in particular, I must acknowledge my husband Chih Chuan, without whose love, support, and encouragement, I would not have finished this thesis. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE NUMBER ABSTRACT i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii TABLE OF CONTENTS iii LIST OF TABLES iv CHAPTER ONE 1 INTRODUCTION TO THE TOPIC OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION TO SINGAPORE CHAPTER TWO 34 EARLY AND COLONIAL SINGAPORE: HISTORICAL NETWORKS, HUMAN SMUGGLING ACTIVITIES AND IMMIGRATION LAWS CHAPTER THREE 67 ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS VERSUS THE AUTHORITIES: THE TRADITIONAL AND CHANGING TRENDS OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION IN SINGAPORE CHAPTER FOUR 88 COMPLEXITIES OF OLD ROUTES, NEW TRENDS AND THE ROLE OF CHINESE SINGAPOREANS CHAPTER FIVE 112 WHEN HEAVEN BECOMES HELL ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS IN SINGAPORE: LIVING CONDITIONS, SNAKEHEADS, CRIME AND PUNISHMENT CHAPTER SIX 133 CONCLUSIONS: THE PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION IN SINGAPORE BIBLIOGRAPHY 150 APPENDIX 161 iii LIST OF TABLES PAGE NUMBER Table 1 No.