Who Is Yu Zefang? The Woman Who Overstayed in Singapore for 28 Years

A story coming out of Singapore caught my attention recently, and it is one of the most unbelievable immigration cases I have ever seen. A 60-year-old Chinese woman, Yu Zefang, has just been sentenced after overstaying her visa in Singapore for more than 28 years. Yes, you read that right, nearly three decades of living in the country without valid papers.

Her case is now being called the longest overstay incident in Singapore’s history, and it raises so many questions: who is this woman, how did she manage to remain in Singapore for so long, and why did she finally turn herself in after all these years? Let me break down this super weird story.

Who is Yu Zefang?

Yu Zefang (name transliterated from Chinese) is a 60-year-old woman originally from China. She first entered Singapore in April 1995 on a student’s pass, which she renewed regularly in the beginning. After her arrest in October 1996 for drug use, her passport was confiscated, leaving her in a difficult position.

From then on, she chose to remain in Singapore without valid papers so she could look after her daughter, who was only eight years old at the time and studying on a student pass. Her daughter eventually obtained permanent residency in 2008.

For nearly three decades, Yu lived quietly in Singapore, avoiding detection by authorities. Reports did not disclose how she supported herself or where she lived during this period, but her long overstay has made her case one of the most remarkable in Singapore’s immigration history.

Timeline of Events: Yu Zefang’s 28-Year Overstay in Singapore

April 1995

• Yu Zefang obtains a student’s pass to pursue studies in Singapore.
• She renews it regularly in the beginning.

September 1996

• Her student’s pass expires.
• Yu continues to stay in Singapore illegally.

October 1996

• Yu is arrested for drug use and has her passport confiscated.
• ICA issues her a special pass (Oct. 17, 1996), allowing her to stay legally while investigations are ongoing.
• Condition: she must report regularly to ICA.
• Yu fails to report and disappears.

November 1996

• Her special pass expires on Nov. 20, 1996.
• Yu remains in Singapore illegally.

January 1997

• Yu’s 8-year-old daughter obtains a student’s pass to study in Singapore legally.
• Yu decides to stay on in Singapore to care for her daughter despite being undocumented.

May 2008

• Yu’s daughter is granted permanent residency (PR) in Singapore.
• Court records do not reveal how the PR was obtained.

Nov. 1996 – Dec. 2024

• Yu remains in Singapore without valid documents for 28 years, 1 month, and 11 days (which is 10,268 days in total).
• Likely the longest overstay case ever recorded in Singapore.

Dec. 30, 2024

• At age 60, Yu surrenders herself to the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA).
• States she wishes to return to China.

Sep. 1, 2025

• Yu appears in court, accompanied by family and friends.
• She pleads guilty to overstaying charges.
• Sentence: 6 months’ jail + S$2,000 fine.
• Judge emphasizes her overstay was intentional and prolonged.

Should Yu Zefang’s Daughter Be Punished Too?

One of the talking points around this case is whether Yu’s daughter should also face consequences. Some online commentators argue that because the daughter lived with her mother, she must have known about the illegal overstay and “helped hide” it from the authorities.

But there are several important points to consider:

Age at the time

When Yu first became an overstayer in late 1996, her daughter was only eight years old. It is unlikely that a child that young would fully understand Singapore’s immigration system or her mother’s legal status.

Her own legal status

The daughter obtained a student pass in January 1997, which meant her stay in Singapore was fully legal. Later in 2008, she was granted permanent residency. If she had been actively hiding her mother, it would have been very difficult for her to successfully pass immigration checks herself.

Knowledge and responsibility

It’s possible that Yu never told her daughter the full truth, especially when the daughter was young. Without clear evidence that she knowingly concealed her mother’s status, the daughter cannot be held criminally responsible.

Government perspective

Singapore’s immigration laws place responsibility squarely on the individual who overstays. Unless there is evidence of active abetment (helping someone stay illegally or lying to ICA), family members are generally not punished for simply living together.

In short, while some believe the daughter should share the blame, I think the law does not punish someone just for being related to or living with an overstayer. The responsibility rests on Yu herself, who admitted in court that she deliberately overstayed for decades.

How Did Yu Zefang Support Herself in Singapore?

Another big question people are asking is how Yu managed to survive in Singapore for almost three decades without valid documents. After all, she still had to provide for her daughter’s school fees, food, and daily expenses.

Some online discussions suggest she may have worked “under the table” in informal jobs. In Singapore, it’s not uncommon for undocumented individuals to take up cash-based work in areas like babysitting, childminding, food service, or housekeeping. Others speculate she may have relied on friends, community networks, or even used someone else’s account to do gig work like delivery jobs.

Of course, none of this has been confirmed in court documents, so we don’t know the exact details. But one thing is clear: surviving for 28 years without a valid visa in a place as tightly regulated as Singapore would have required resourcefulness, support, and perhaps the willingness of others to look the other way.

Public Sentiment: “So Now She Gets to Stay Even Longer?”

When I was researching this case, I came across a lot of online conversations about it. Some of the comments really caught my attention. On Reddit, for example, one person wrote, “So now she can overstay even longer?” Another added that her six-month prison sentence basically means “additional free lodging and food paid by you and me.”

I found these reactions interesting because they show how people view punishment differently. For some, jail time feels like the right response to someone who broke the law. But to others, it almost looks like a reward. Instead of being deported immediately, Yu gets six more months in Singapore with food and accommodation covered by taxpayers.

It is a perspective worth noting. It shows the frustration some people feel when they see how immigration cases are handled, especially when it looks like the system is giving someone who overstayed even more time in the country.

Questions That Leave Me Wondering

The more I think about this case, the more questions come up in my mind.

How do you manage to go undetected for almost 30 years in a place as strict as Singapore? Did she work cash-only jobs, live in places where landlords never asked questions, or rely on friends to get by? Even basic things like renting a flat, visiting a doctor, or signing up for utilities usually require valid documents. How did she navigate all of that without being caught?

And then there’s the travel side. She never left Singapore once in 28 years? That means no trips back to China to see family, no holidays, no movement across borders at all. It’s almost impossible to imagine someone staying hidden that long without ever stepping out of the country.

Honestly these are the kinds of details that make this case so fascinating and raise even bigger questions about what life was really like for Yu Zefang during all those years.