SINGAPORE \u2013 More than 100 e-vaporisers were found by a cleaner inside a Housing Board electrical riser in Tampines on Nov 11.<\/p>\n
The vapes were discovered in a trolley bag and a plastic bag at Block 494D Tampines Street 43.<\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
Mr Huang, 70, subsequently reported the matter to the police.<\/p>\n
He told Shin Min that he later checked the electrical riser where the vapes were stashed. <\/p>\n
\u201cI then loaded the items (vapes) onto my bicycle, took them to my newspaper stall, and immediately notified the police,\u201d said Mr Huang, whose stall is located nearby.<\/p>\n
The trolley bag had eight big boxes of vapes \u2013 each containing 10 e-cigarettes. Two other big boxes were found in the plastic bag, he told Shin Min.<\/p>\n The vapes were discovered in a trolley bag and a plastic bag.<\/p>\n PHOTO: SHIN MIN DAILY NEWS READER<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n The police arrived at about 9am and took away the e-vaporisers, Mr Huang said.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n The Health Sciences Authority (HSA) told the Straits Times that it is following up with the police on the case.<\/p>\n Singapore now treats vaping as a drug issue, with\u00a0<\/p>\n stricter measures implemented<\/p>\n <\/a>\u00a0from Sept 1, including higher fines for abusers and harsher penalties for suppliers.<\/p>\n From September to Nov 2, over\u00a01,900 people\u00a0<\/p>\n were caught for offences<\/p>\n <\/a> linked to e-vaporisers.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n The authorities said public reporting is a major contributor to their efforts to combat e-cigarettes. <\/p>\n During a nine-week operation conducted from September to November, over 2,600 e-cigarette cases were reported by the public through HSA\u2019s online forms and hotline.<\/p>\n <\/a><\/picture><\/div>
<\/picture><\/div>\n