Jail, caning for man caught at Changi Airport with knife inside shoe before flight to Indonesia
Syaifudin Alfitroh, 32, had hidden the knife because a friend asked him to do so.
A 32-year-old Indonesian man, Syaifudin Alfitroh, was sentenced to 10 months in jail and six caning strokes after pleading guilty to possessing an offensive weapon at Singapore's Changi Airport. The inmate, who worked as a sea crew on vessels in the Indian Ocean, attempted to board an Indonesia-bound flight with an 11cm knife hidden inside his shoe.
The knife belonged to a friend, Ahmad, whom Syaifudin had met on a vessel in March 2026. Ahmad had instructed Syaifudin to hide the knife in his shoe before heading to Jakarta. The man was arrested on August 29, 2025, when auxiliary police officers detected the weapon during security screening. Syaifudin claimed he forgot Ahmad's instructions to store the knife in his shoe when packing his belongings at the airport.
The prosecutor emphasized the potential harm this could have caused, as vigilance was crucial in preventing such incidents. Syaifudin, who had no prior offenses, expressed remorse and asked for leniency in sentencing.
Written by urgent.news from Straits Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
