Cleaner finds over 100 vapes stashed in bags in electrical riser in Tampines; HSA investigating

SINGAPORE – More than 100 e-vaporisers were found by a cleaner inside a Housing Board electrical riser in Tampines on Nov 11.

The vapes were discovered in a trolley bag and a plastic bag at Block 494D Tampines Street 43.

The cleaner, who was not identified, had stumbled on the vapes while cleaning the premises. He told a newspaper vendor, Mr Huang Yong Cai, about his find at about 5am, reported Shin Min Daily News.

Mr Huang, 70, subsequently reported the matter to the police.

He told Shin Min that he later checked the electrical riser where the vapes were stashed.

“I then loaded the items (vapes) onto my bicycle, took them to my newspaper stall, and immediately notified the police,” said Mr Huang, whose stall is located nearby.

The trolley bag had eight big boxes of vapes – each containing 10 e-cigarettes. Two other big boxes were found in the plastic bag, he told Shin Min.

The police arrived at about 9am and took away the e-vaporisers, Mr Huang said.

This was not the first time the cleaner had come across vapes in the vicinity. Shin Min reported that he had previously found a bag of vapes while cleaning, and threw the vapes away.

The Health Sciences Authority (HSA) told the Straits Times that it is following up with the police on the case.

Singapore now treats vaping as a drug issue, with 

 from Sept 1, including higher fines for abusers and harsher penalties for suppliers.

From September to Nov 2, over 1,900 people 

linked to e-vaporisers.

Among them, 167 were found with vapes containing etomidate, a harmful drug, said the Ministry of Health and HSA in a joint statement on Nov 7.

The authorities said public reporting is a major contributor to their efforts to combat e-cigarettes.

During a nine-week operation conducted from September to November, over 2,600 e-cigarette cases were reported by the public through HSA’s online forms and hotline.

Vaping/E-cigarettesHealth Sciences AuthorityPolice