Singapore (see also India)

New citizens, permanent residents increased

The latest figures from the National Population Secretariat show that 13,209 foreigners were granted Singaporean citizenship in 2006, up from 12,900 in 2005. The number of permanent residents also increased from 52,300 to 57,300 last year.

Domestic worker charged with murder

An Indonesian domestic worker, Tri Lestari, 24, was charged with murder on 22 August. She was accused of murdering her elderly employer Choy Ah Moy, 70, on 19 August. The cause of her death is not known. Tri had fled after the alleged killing and was caught at the nearby Tiong Bahru Food Center.

Third husband of Vietnamese faces jail term

The third husband of a Cambodian/Vietnamese woman, Tran Thi Gai, 29, pleaded guilty to helping her make false declarations to immigration authorities. The Kuan Meng, 36, may face seven years' imprisonment while Tran is convicted of bigamy. Using different names, Tran was previously married to two other Singaporeans in order to extend her stay in Singapore. Tran, holding a Cambodian passport, had been arrested and deported twice. She re-entered the country in May 2004 using a Vietnamese passport. In filling out disembarkation cards for Tran on trips to Malaysia, The declared that Tran had never used a passport under a different name despite knowing of her previous run-ins with immigration. He also kept silent about Tran's declaration before the commissioner of oaths that she was single, even when she was still married to her first husband.

Sources: "Foreigners boost S'pore population," Today Online, 16 August 2007; DPA, "Vietnamese woman's third husband faces jail for role in bigamy," Earthtimes.org, 21 August 2007; Ansley Ng, "Indonesian maid charged with murder," Today Online, 23 August 2007