Myanmar nationals in Singapore have been arrested and fined for missing entry stamps despite entering Malaysia legally through the border checkpoint, the Myanmar Embassy in Singapore has announced.

On January 25, a Myanmar woman working in Singapore passed through Woodland Checkpoint to Johor Bahru, Malaysia. On January 26, she was temporarily detained by the Malaysian Immigration Department at the Johor Bahru Immigration checkpoint to re-enter Singapore because her passport did not have a Malaysian stamp, the embassy said.

The Myanmar national had entered Singapore legally, but was detained for seven days due to the Chinese New Year holidays, and was fined 1,000 MYR and banned from entering Malaysia for three years.

In the incident, the Myanmar Embassy in Singapore and the Myanmar Embassy in Kuala Lumpur have coordinated with the relevant Malaysian Immigration Department officials, according to the embassy statement.

Therefore, Myanmar citizens living in Singapore are advised to fill out and keep a record of their arrival in Malaysia if they intend to travel to Malaysia through Singapore’s border checkpoints, and in particular, to check whether their passports have been stamped by the Malaysian Immigration Department before leaving the Malaysian checkpoint, and only enter Malaysia after the stamp has been affixed.