SINGAPORE: A Malaysian man has been jailed for trying to smuggle immigration offenders out of Singapore in what is believed to be the first such case since tougher laws were introduced, a report said today.

L Magendtheran, 20, was jailed 30 months and given six strokes of the cane after immigration officers found six illegals hiding in his car as he attempted to cross into Malaysia in January, the Straits Times said.

The officers arrested all six - three women from China, a man from Burma and a man and a woman from Thailand - along with the unemployed Letchamanan. They had been concealed in the back seat and car trunk.

The six illegals, aged 26 to 41, were given varying sentences for their offences. Two other men, believed to be the masterminds of the deal, are still at large, the newspaper said.

Immigration laws were ammended in January to impose penalties on smugglers helping illegals flee Singapore to escape arrest.

Previous laws were aimed at illegal immigration into Singapore, which hosts some 750,000 foreigners out of a total population of 4.2 million.