By Elena Chong

A CANADIAN truck driver who gave his sister-in-law's Canadian passport to his wife's niece to use was jailed for a year on Thursday.

Ponnambalam Ratnasabapathy's niece, Jeevanantham Mangaleena, 26, was also jailed a year for making use of the travel document that was not hers to enter Tuas checkpoint on April 13.

Ratnasabapathy, 47, admitted to abetting Mangaleena, a Sri Lankan, to contravene the Passports Act by providing her with the Canadian passport of his wife's sister.

Both were arrested in Hong Kong and deported to Singapore on April 17.

A district court heard that Mangaleena's aunt, who is Ratnasabapathy?s wife, had proposed that Mangaleena come to Canada to work, saying she would make the arrangements.

Mangaleena flew here on April 7 with her Sri Lankan passport.

As arranged by her aunt, she met Ratnasabapathy at the taxi stand.

He took her to a hotel where he gave her the passport of his wife's 41-year-old sister. He told her to use it to enter Malaysia and re-enter Singapore.

Mangaleena noticed that the photograph of the holder of the Canadian passport was the younger sister of her aunt.

On April 12, the duo flew to Kuala Lumpur.

At the airport, Ratnasabapathy asked her to practise the signature on the Canadian passport. They left by bus for Singapore the next day.

At Tuas checkpoint, she produced the Canadian passport and was given a social visit pass. Three days later they left for Hong Kong and were arrested.

They could have been fined up to $10,000 and/or jailed for up to 10 years.