S’PORE MAN GOT STOPPED BY JB CUSTOMS, SAYS HE OWE “INCOME TAX” & HOLDS HIS PASSPORT

Denied exit from JB to SG

Hi everyone. As per the title, my family & I was otw back to SG & about to exit JB custom today when we got stopped at JB immigration. We were told to get out from the vehicle. The officer took us to their waiting room, and brought my dad into their office.

In short, they claimed that my dad owes them Income Tax from 2020. The officers insisted that we pay the Income Tax from 2020 before we are allowed to leave JB. We were given a hotline number & were told to call the hotline as they close at 10pm.

However, after checking on Google, the said department closed at 7pm & the hotline number is different. This raised some suspicions as we cannot be sure if what they are claiming is true. We refused to pay as we are all Singaporeans, and my dad has not worked in Malaysia for more than 25 years. It did not make sense to have Income Tax owed to them.

As we refused to pay without talking to the relevant departments, the officers called their law enforcers (not sure if it’s their local police) & refused to return our passports until the enforcers came to pick us up. We were then given the option to all U-turn to JB, or return to SG without my dad.

Has anyone encountered or heard of such incidents? I’m very worried as my dad is still in JB to settle this & I dont know how many days it will take before he is allowed to exit Malaysia.

Thank you in advance.

EDIT: my dad was Malaysian, became a Singapore citizen around 2013 & had not worked or have any business in Malaysia the past 25 years. This is his 6th visit to Malaysia this year, hence our surprise when an Income Tax from 2020 is only flagged now.

Netizens’ comments

1. Make a police report here in Singapore, and seek help from SG embassy in Malaysia.
2. Sketchy AF. How can a Singaporean own income tax in Malaysia? Better to call Singapore consulate for assistance.
3. Hello – my family also got into a similar situation when we were trying to enter JB to celebrate CNY with my dad’s family this year. Got held up at JB customs because they said my father (ex-Malaysian who became SG citizen in 2014) owed them income tax in 2020/2021 when he had not worked in Malaysia for more than 30 years. JB customs told him that if he chooses to enter with us, he will not be allowed to return to SG until he settled his income tax. He stayed behind in JB for a few more days to settle the issue with the tax authority. I agree that it’s very suspicious and I hope the embassy can help.