Jail for S'porean in knife attack who sneaked into Johor while on bail

A man who did not have a valid passport decided to leave Singapore illegally in late 2022 while he was out on bail over an incident where he injured another man with a knife.

- Shaffiq Alkhatib

Singaporean Muhammad Sabri Rifaie Zul climbed into the rear compartment of a Malaysia-registered lorry while the driver was away, hid among some baskets of produce, and slipped unnoticed across the Causeway into Johor.

Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) prosecutor Kelvin Teo told the court that the Malaysian authorities sent Sabri back to Singapore in October 2024, and he was arrested soon after.

Sabri was sentenced to three years and 14 weeks' jail on Aug 11 after he pleaded guilty to leaving Singapore without presenting his passport to the authorities, assault and drug-related offences.