SINGAPORE \u2013 A single father of three children started delivering vapes twice a week after being introduced to the job by a friend. <\/p>\n
After almost a year of doing this, he began earning extra income by running a vape shop on Telegram and taking orders from customers. <\/p>\n
He was nabbed when he delivered vapes to a Health Sciences Authority (HSA) officer acting as a buyer in a test-buy operation. <\/p>\n
On Dec 1, Shaun Phua Ming Hui, 32, was sentenced to seven weeks\u2019 jail and fined $16,000. He will serve an additional 32 days\u2019 jail if he is unable to pay the fine. <\/p>\n
He had pleaded guilty to 10 vaping-related offences, with 35 other charges taken into consideration for his sentencing. <\/p>\n
The court heard that Phua\u2019s friend introduced him to a vape delivery job in April 2023. <\/p>\n
He was promised $10 for each delivery, and was required to deliver 10 to 15 parcels each day, earning between $100 and $150 daily. <\/p>\n
Phua was added to a Telegram group chat that assigned work schedules to drivers, and he delivered vapes twice a week. <\/p>\n
In March 2024, he agreed to sell vapes and their components for extra income after being approached by someone in the business. <\/p>\n
The person, who was unnamed in court documents, created the Telegram group accounts \u201cAbigail vape shop\u201d and \u201cAshley Tang\u201d on Phua\u2019s mobile phone. <\/p>\n
Phua received orders through these two accounts and forwarded them to another group chat. <\/p>\n
He also double-checked that the packers were preparing the correct orders, before waiting for the delivery route and schedule. <\/p>\n
For running the two Telegram group accounts, Phua was paid an additional $50 a week \u2013 on top of his earnings from vape deliveries. He admitted to earning about $500 per month from this criminal operation. <\/p>\n
On Sept 7, 2024, HSA officers conducted a test-buy operation at Guilin View, a condominium in Bukit Gombak, after receiving information about a Telegram group chat peddling vapes. <\/p>\n
Phua arrived at the location in a vehicle with his girlfriend to deliver the vapes, and was arrested. <\/p>\n
The authorities found vapes and pods in the vehicle, along with five vapes that Phua admitted were for his own use. <\/p>\n
HSA prosecutor Vishnu Aditya Naidu said deterrence is the main sentencing consideration in this case. <\/p>\n
The prosecutor added that with the increasing prevalence of vaping offences and the public disquiet surrounding them, harsher sentences are needed for such crimes. <\/p>\n <\/a> Phua said in mitigation that he needed money to support his three children. <\/p>\n \u201cThis is my first offence, please be lenient with me,\u201d he told Deputy Principal District Judge\u00a0Kessler Soh. <\/p>\n Before handing down the sentence, the judge told Phua as he stood in the dock: \u201cYou have to make sure you don\u2019t ever get involved in such things again.\u201d <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/picture><\/div>\n