SINGAPORE \u2013 A man was caught with 1,050 etomidate-laced e-cigarette pods worth $73,500 at the Woodlands Checkpoint, less than a year after he was fined for bringing e-cigarette devices into Singapore.<\/p>\n
Ji Saow Hua, a 42-year-old Malaysian, was sentenced to 15 weeks\u2019 jail on Sept 3 after he pleaded guilty to importing the pods.<\/p>\n
He had an undisclosed full-time job in Singapore at the time of the offence.<\/p>\n
Both his offences were linked to a person named Louis Lee, although in different ways.<\/p>\n
Court documents stated that in his first offence, Ji had helped Lee deliver e-cigarette devices on June 26, 2024. He rode a motorcycle to import 107 sets of the devices and 14 e-cigarette pods through the Woodlands Checkpoint.<\/p>\n
He was caught and fined $4,000 later that year.<\/p>\n
Health Sciences Authority prosecutor Jolene Chua told the court that to settle the fine, Ji borrowed RM15,000 (S$4,700) from an unlicensed moneylender in Malaysia.<\/p>\n
Facing financial woes in January 2025, Ji reached out to Lee, who introduced him to another person called Louis Wong.<\/p>\n
Wong then offered him a job to smuggle items such as e-cigarette devices into Singapore.<\/p>\n
Ji hesitated but accepted the job in late June 2025 due to increased financial pressure, said the prosecutor.<\/p>\n
On July 3, 2025, he received instructions from Wong to collect seven packages containing items such as e-cigarette devices from a staircase landing at a shophouse in Taman Pelangi, Johor.<\/p>\n
As part of the plan, Ji had to smuggle the packages into Singapore before his work shift the next day.<\/p>\n
He had to deliver the items to Yishun after his shift ended at 9pm that day.<\/p>\n
Ji would receive details about the exact location after his shift ended, the court heard.<\/p>\n
He was promised $300 for successful delivery. Court documents did not disclose what happened next.<\/p>\n
The following day, Ji was riding his motorcycle through the Woodlands Checkpoint at around 7.45am when an auxiliary police officer stopped him for a routine check.<\/p>\n
The officer found multiple packages wrapped in black plastic in the rear carriage box of the motorcycle. They contained the 1,050 e-cigarette pods.<\/p>\n
Ji was charged in court in 2026.<\/p>\n