41 weeks’ jail for packer caught in vape warehouse with over 40,000 vapes and components

A total of 17,955 vapes and 29,522 related components were seized from the warehouse at Jalan Pemimpin.

Officers then checked Chong’s mobile phone and found the address of a second warehouse located at another industrial building in Ubi Avenue 3.

The keys to the warehouse were found in Chong’s vehicle.

HSA officers went to the second warehouse at about 4.20pm on the same day and seized 5,564 vapes and 13,412 related components.

HSA prosecutor Vishnu Aditya Naidu told the court that Chong was working as a sales assistant at a mobile phone shop in Johor Bahru, which also sold vapes, and earned about RM6,000 (S$1,900) a month.

In July 2024, he became acquainted with one of his customers, identified in court documents as “John”.

In April 2025, John asked Chong if he wanted to work as a packer for vapes in Singapore for $100 a day.

Chong began working for John twice a week some time in May 2025.

His job scope included packing parcels according to John’s instructions and handing them over to delivery drivers once he was done.

He would also receive new stocks and restock both warehouses.

Occasionally, he would help John transport vapes and their components from the warehouse in Bishan to Ubi.

In sentencing, Deputy Principal District Judge Kessler Soh said a custodial sentence was warranted in view of the need for deterrence.

For each charge of selling or distributing vapes, an offender can be fined up to $10,000, jailed for up to six months, or both.