SINGAPORE: A woman from China who claims to be an influencer said in videos posted on social media that she was refused entry into Singapore when she arrived in late January.
However, she also alleges that officers at Changi Airport charged her more than S$500 and that she was detained for two days before she was made to leave the city-state.
The Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) stated that the woman, a Ms Chen, had arrived in Singapore on January 31 but that she had undergone additional screening upon arrival.
Finding that the woman was evasive, gave answers that were inconsistent, and could not produce a clear travel itinerary, she was put on a return flight the following day.
Moreover, the ICA underlined that it does not ask for money from travelers who are refused entry into the city-state, and added that foreigners are not automatically entitled to enter Singapore.
Ms Chen’s story
The Chinese woman, who goes by Chen Xixi and Chen Wenshi, told her story in two videos posted on Douyin earlier this month.
She said it had been her first time to travel to Singapore and that she was supposed to visit her sister, who works as a teacher. As she was going through immigration after arriving in Singapore, she was taken aside and then asked to give details about her plans for her visit.
She claimed she was asked to sign an agreement in English, a language she is not fully fluent in, to hand over her mobile phone. Nevertheless, she signed it because she was afraid she would be deported. Afterward, she claimed her messages and bank details were scrutinized. Ms Chen was also photographed and fingerprinted, and then moved to a detention centre without her bags or phone.
She also said she was kept in a small room for two days, adding that she could neither shower nor sleep, and while her phone was returned to her, she and the others in the same situation could only use their phones at certain times.
And when ICA officers walked her to her plane so she could leave Singapore, she said they asked for a S$500 “detention fee” but that no receipt would be issued. When she told them she had no money, she boarded the plane and left the city-state.
ICA sets the record straight
ICA told 8world that contrary to the woman’s claims, Ms Chen had been interviewed in Mandarin when she first arrived, a language she fully understands. The officers who interviewed her noted that she had no onward tickets. More damningly, there were videos showing that Ms Chen had been coached in how to answer ICA officers were found on her mobile phone.
As for Ms Chen’s claims that a fellow traveler from China had taken videos and photos while in detention and shared them to her, the ICA said they have received reports of such instances happening, and reminded the public that this is against the law. /TISG
Read also: Man from China allegedly films himself in detention in SG, uploads video on social media
