ICA said the car’s driver, a 20-year-old Malaysian, was also arrested, and all three men were charged in court on the same day.

The authority said its officers had directed a Malaysia-registered vehicle for further checks at the Woodlands checkpoint around 3am, during which they discovered the two men concealed in the boot.

“Both men aged 30 and 31 were not in possession of any travel documents,” Bernama reported the agency as saying.

Under Singapore’s Immigration Act 1959, illegal departure is punishable by a fine of up to S$2,000 (RM6,637.82), imprisonment of up to six months, or both.

Offenders who engage in the business of conveying prohibited immigrants out of Singapore face a jail term of between two and five years and a minimum of three strokes of the cane.

ICA added that vehicles used in such offences were liable to be confiscated.