The government yesterday criticised neighbouring Singapore for allegedly sending back a probable Sars patient detected at their land border.

Health ministry deputy director-general Dr Mohd Ismail Merican said the 26-year-old Malaysian man, who lives and works in Singapore, entered southern Johor state bordering the republic o­n Sunday for a day trip.

Upon returning to Singapore, he was detected with Sars symptoms by health authorities at the Woodlands checkpoint in Singapore, Ismail said.

"While in Woodlands, health authorities discovered he had Sars symptoms. What they did next was to put him in an ambulance and send him to Johor Hospital," he was quoted as saying by Bernama news agency.

Breaching pledge

Ismail said Singapore's move breached a pledge among the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) for Sars patients to be treated in the country where they were detected.

"We deeply regret Singapore's move and we have yet to receive a response from Singaporean authorities regarding the case," he said.

Ismail said the man, diagnosed as Malaysia's eighth probable Sars case, had apparently developed a fever and cough before going to Johor but did not fill in a health declaration form or receive screening when leaving Singapore.

It was the third time Singapore had allowed Sars patients to slip through the net, he said, adding that the ministry would submit a report to the World Health Organisation.

Malaysia had earlier voiced concerns over the two earlier cases, when a Japanese tourist and a Bangladeshi businessman were allowed to board flights in Singapore's Changi airport although they were detected with fever.

The two were later hospitalised in Malaysia.

Joint committee

Thousands of Malaysians travel daily to work in the island-state and Singaporeans are also the biggest group of visitors to Malaysia.

The two countries have set up a joint border health committee to tighten controls at entry points but officials say it is almost impossible to screen every traveller.

Malaysia has recorded two Sars deaths, compared to 28 deaths out of 206 cases in Singapore.

The two countries are members of Asean, which pledged at an emergency meeting with China last month to implement rigorous measures to contain the spread of Sars, which has killed more than 640 people worldwide. AFP