Passport Scare
Date : 27th Mar 2007 2.33 am
My friend arrived at my place and we proceeded to Johor Baru, Malaysia for cheap fuel, cheap ciggarettes and cheap food. The night was cool, roads are empty, custom was a breeze.
Date : 27th Mar 2007 5.27 am
Returning back to Singapore. The Johor hordes was out in full force. Roads jammed, no way to manovuer, stuck in big ass jam. Breathing in fumes and carbon monoxide. I wonder how they do this everyday. Some experienced people shut off their engines to either sleep or read the papers or stare blankly into space, perhaps thinking when would they be able to stop this morning rush everyday.
Date 27th Mar 2007 6.46am
Finally made it through customs. Wonderful. Home sweet home.
Date 27th Mar 2007 7.01 am
Reached home. My friend realised that our departure card was still in the passport and it had remain unstamped. Damn it! We went into the wrong lane! We're physically in Singapore but our passports say we are still in Malaysia! How could this happened? We've became illegal immigrants in our own country! Well fuck it, it's not our fault that immigration officers on both sides of the causeway fucked up. Why would anyone with a legal passport wanna smuggle into their own country? Ignored it.
Date 30th Mar 2007 Sometime in the afternoon
My friend called me up and said he just made a call to the Singapore authorities and enquired about our unstamped passport. Was told we could be fined/jailed or both. Damn it and it was not even our fault! Yes we went in the wrong lane but the people at both sides of the causeway should have spotted it and resolved it there and then! Now we're supposed to make our own way back and solve it on our own. Well done to the custom officers! And we're supposed to debate on whether civil servants need increasing of their pay. Yes, please increase their pay so that they have more people manning the phones to tell us that we might be fined or jailed because they didn't do their job.
Date 31st Mar 2007 2.17 am
Making our way to Johor,Malaysia again to resolve this issue. Another friend gave me a link on unstamped passports and i found out just how stupid and ridiculous this situation is. Apparently some people actually got fined and jailed! How extremely lame! I would personally wage a one man war if they did that to me. http://forums.asiaone.com/cgi-bin/WebX?50@707.XvbAaDNOhjd.0@.eebedd6 - the link for some articles on the issue of unstamped passports.
Date 31st Mar 2007 2.34am
First stop, Singapore Customs. Told the officer about our situation. Told us it was a big problem. Said there's nothing they can do because it's between us and Malaysia authorities. If there's nothing they can do then what are they there for exactly? Told us to go speak with the malaysians. As if we need you to tell us that. Didn't even take down our details in case we don't make it back. Stand by your fellow Singaporeans yeah?
Second stop, Malaysian authorities. There's this office in the middle of the malaysian customs where they have an immigration office. Walked over with my friend fearing the worst. Told the guy at the counter about our situation. Another guy besides him stood up, took out a key and opened a door besides them. My first thought, Shit! They're going to detain us there and then or maybe negotiate a bribe in a cell..... Pleasantly surprised when the guy told us to just go over and get a stamp. Maybe it's our lucky day.
Third stop, proceeded to clear the immigration post on the malaysian side, Sleepy woman at counter took our passports, tried to tell her our purpose and that we just wanted to go over to get a stamp. Didn't even looked like she understood english. Processed my friend's passport then when she saw mine she saw the unstamped portion. She finally looks up. Waved a hand at us and walked over to the immigration office we just came from. What the fuck. We're tried to tell her what happened and she refused to listen, now she walks back to where we came from. Another example of stupid people this world is made up of. waited anxiously for her return, to be honest was worried they might change their mind and detain us or ask for that bribe afterall. Took her a good 20 odd mins before slowly walking back alone. At this point i was thinking if indeed we're some top criminals, by leaving us there waiting alone we could have gotten away anytime. Maybe it was a magical hand wave which binds us to our spot. Processed my passport and handed it over to us. Never speaking a word throughout and her eyes went back to sleepy mode.
Final stop, the actual lane we should have gone to. This is an easily missed lane. It's located behind some shops which is behind the bus stop which is behind the main road! No signs or lights or anything, just some dodgy backlane with the road wide enough for only 1 bike at a time. I'm starting to think they do this on purpose so that they can fine and jail us as and when they have a hissy spat with our government. The guy at the only counter available was obviously having a good day. Gave us 2 stamps and said if anyone asked, we entered on the 27th, left on the 31st, entered again on the 31st, left again on the 31st. Amazing. For all the hoohaa they made when they fined jailed our fellow Singaporeans. We got away with it just like that. How bloody lame. Just goes to prove it's an extremely minor issue and that those Singaporeans in the above-mentioned article must have either been at the wrong place at the wrong time or pissed them off real bad.
Date 31st Mar 4.09 am
Home.
My friend arrived at my place and we proceeded to Johor Baru, Malaysia for cheap fuel, cheap ciggarettes and cheap food. The night was cool, roads are empty, custom was a breeze.
Date : 27th Mar 2007 5.27 am
Returning back to Singapore. The Johor hordes was out in full force. Roads jammed, no way to manovuer, stuck in big ass jam. Breathing in fumes and carbon monoxide. I wonder how they do this everyday. Some experienced people shut off their engines to either sleep or read the papers or stare blankly into space, perhaps thinking when would they be able to stop this morning rush everyday.
Date 27th Mar 2007 6.46am
Finally made it through customs. Wonderful. Home sweet home.
Date 27th Mar 2007 7.01 am
Reached home. My friend realised that our departure card was still in the passport and it had remain unstamped. Damn it! We went into the wrong lane! We're physically in Singapore but our passports say we are still in Malaysia! How could this happened? We've became illegal immigrants in our own country! Well fuck it, it's not our fault that immigration officers on both sides of the causeway fucked up. Why would anyone with a legal passport wanna smuggle into their own country? Ignored it.
Date 30th Mar 2007 Sometime in the afternoon
My friend called me up and said he just made a call to the Singapore authorities and enquired about our unstamped passport. Was told we could be fined/jailed or both. Damn it and it was not even our fault! Yes we went in the wrong lane but the people at both sides of the causeway should have spotted it and resolved it there and then! Now we're supposed to make our own way back and solve it on our own. Well done to the custom officers! And we're supposed to debate on whether civil servants need increasing of their pay. Yes, please increase their pay so that they have more people manning the phones to tell us that we might be fined or jailed because they didn't do their job.
Date 31st Mar 2007 2.17 am
Making our way to Johor,Malaysia again to resolve this issue. Another friend gave me a link on unstamped passports and i found out just how stupid and ridiculous this situation is. Apparently some people actually got fined and jailed! How extremely lame! I would personally wage a one man war if they did that to me. http://forums.asiaone.com/cgi-bin/WebX?50@707.XvbAaDNOhjd.0@.eebedd6 - the link for some articles on the issue of unstamped passports.
Date 31st Mar 2007 2.34am
First stop, Singapore Customs. Told the officer about our situation. Told us it was a big problem. Said there's nothing they can do because it's between us and Malaysia authorities. If there's nothing they can do then what are they there for exactly? Told us to go speak with the malaysians. As if we need you to tell us that. Didn't even take down our details in case we don't make it back. Stand by your fellow Singaporeans yeah?
Second stop, Malaysian authorities. There's this office in the middle of the malaysian customs where they have an immigration office. Walked over with my friend fearing the worst. Told the guy at the counter about our situation. Another guy besides him stood up, took out a key and opened a door besides them. My first thought, Shit! They're going to detain us there and then or maybe negotiate a bribe in a cell..... Pleasantly surprised when the guy told us to just go over and get a stamp. Maybe it's our lucky day.
Third stop, proceeded to clear the immigration post on the malaysian side, Sleepy woman at counter took our passports, tried to tell her our purpose and that we just wanted to go over to get a stamp. Didn't even looked like she understood english. Processed my friend's passport then when she saw mine she saw the unstamped portion. She finally looks up. Waved a hand at us and walked over to the immigration office we just came from. What the fuck. We're tried to tell her what happened and she refused to listen, now she walks back to where we came from. Another example of stupid people this world is made up of. waited anxiously for her return, to be honest was worried they might change their mind and detain us or ask for that bribe afterall. Took her a good 20 odd mins before slowly walking back alone. At this point i was thinking if indeed we're some top criminals, by leaving us there waiting alone we could have gotten away anytime. Maybe it was a magical hand wave which binds us to our spot. Processed my passport and handed it over to us. Never speaking a word throughout and her eyes went back to sleepy mode.
Final stop, the actual lane we should have gone to. This is an easily missed lane. It's located behind some shops which is behind the bus stop which is behind the main road! No signs or lights or anything, just some dodgy backlane with the road wide enough for only 1 bike at a time. I'm starting to think they do this on purpose so that they can fine and jail us as and when they have a hissy spat with our government. The guy at the only counter available was obviously having a good day. Gave us 2 stamps and said if anyone asked, we entered on the 27th, left on the 31st, entered again on the 31st, left again on the 31st. Amazing. For all the hoohaa they made when they fined jailed our fellow Singaporeans. We got away with it just like that. How bloody lame. Just goes to prove it's an extremely minor issue and that those Singaporeans in the above-mentioned article must have either been at the wrong place at the wrong time or pissed them off real bad.
Date 31st Mar 4.09 am
Home.
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