SINGAPORE: Strapped for cash, a Malaysian property agent agreed to deliver vapes in Singapore to earn extra income.<\/p>\n
His offence was discovered in August after customs officers caught him behaving suspiciously in Wellington Circle in Sembawang.<\/p>\n
Ang Boon Hong, 43, was sentenced to 10 weeks\u2019 jail on Monday (Dec 15) after pleading guilty to one charge of possession of vapes for sale.<\/p>\n
Another similar charge was taken into consideration for sentencing.<\/p>\n
The court heard that Ang was facing financial difficulties when he was offered a job by a friend known as \u201cKenny\u201d to deliver e-vaporisers and related components in Singapore.<\/p>\n
Ang was promised payment of between RM2 (S$0.60) and RM10 for each successful delivery.<\/p>\n
He would have earned about RM100 a day for each day he carried out the deliveries, the court heard.<\/p>\n
Ang was instructed to enter Singapore and collect parcels from an HDB flat in Sembawang between 5pm and 6pm, along with a list of the delivery locations for the parcels.<\/p>\n
For cash-on-delivery orders, he was to collect the money and pass it to \u201cKenny\u201d when he returned to Malaysia.<\/p>\n
On Aug 28, customs officers saw Ang placing two blue-coloured IKEA bags into a vehicle in Wellington Circle in Sembawang.<\/p>\n
After following him for a while, they stopped him in Ang Mo Kio Street 65 at about 5.45pm and found in the bags several white polymailer bags containing e-vaporisers and related components.<\/p>\n
Health Sciences Authority (HSA) officers called to the scene seized 115 e-vaporisers and 258 vaporiser components.<\/p>\n
Ang was aware the parcels contained e-vaporisers and knew that these items were illegal in Singapore, HSA prosecutor Aditya Naidu said.<\/p>\n
In mitigation, Ang asked for leniency as this was his first brush with the law.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe past few months have been dire because I have been unable to return home, and I have lost my job as a result,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Since Sept 1, harsher penalties have been introduced for vape-related offences.<\/p>\n
Those caught vaping can be fined up to S$700, while subsequent offenders can face prosecution and be fined up to S$2,000.<\/p>\n
For selling e-vaporisers, an offender can be fined up to $10,000, jailed for up to six months, or both. – The Straits Times\/ANN<\/p>\n
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