Jail, cane for ex-Nafa student who overstayed more than a decade
A dance student at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (Nafa) was unable to pay his school fees. So the school had the authorities cancel the Vietnamese's Student Pass in 2008.
Dang Nguyen Sinh Nhat, who was 27 at that time, managed to get a Visit Pass that year so he could raise funds for the fees. But he was still unable to do so and his pass expired.
However, he did not leave Singapore and instead remained here illegally for more than a decade to work so that he could send money to his family back home, he said.
Yesterday, Dang, who is now 38, was jailed for five months and given four strokes of the cane.
He had remained in Singapore illegally for a total of 10 years, seven months and 22 days.
The court heard that Dang was issued with a Student Pass on May 22, 2006, but it was cancelled about two years later by the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) on April 14, 2008, at the request of Nafa.
The ICA then issued him a Visit Pass on the same day, also on the request of the school, so that he could raise funds and pay the school fees. The pass was extended on a few occasions and expired only on July 1 that year. He surrendered himself on Feb 23 this year to ICA officers at the ICA building at Lavender.
Dang was charged in court yesterday through video conference and pleaded guilty to remaining in Singapore unlawfully for more than 90 days.
Speaking to the court through an interpreter, Dang said he stayed here illegally so he could earn money for his family back home. He also claimed that he had HIV.
"During the time I've stayed in Singapore, I've worked to earn money to help my family," he said.
"I hope I can be released soon to go back to Vietnam so my family can help me."
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