High risk, high return—this principle is one that many businessmen live by.
With the number of incidents involving people getting caught and fined for selling and using electric contraband cigarettes, you’d have thought others would be more careful and not engage in such businesses despite its profitability.
Unfortunately, it looks like there are still many out there who take the extreme risk and eventually land themselves in hot soup.
$172K Fine for 8 Electric Vaporiser Sellers
Some people still haven’t got the memo, it seems.
From November 2020 to February 2021, eight people were found to have sold electronic tobacco vaporisers (e-vaporisers) online.
Lest you were unaware as well, there’s been a longstanding blanket ban here in Singapore on the purchase, use and possession of imitation tobacco products.
These include electronic cigarettes, electronic cigarettes (e-pipes), electronic cigars and the electronic vaporisers in question, which are battery powered and allow users to inhale tobacco through the form of vapour.
The group of illegal sellers ranged in age from 26 to 41 years old.
Contraband products were obtained from overseas suppliers and brought into Singapore, where the group had sold them on various social media platforms as well as e-commerce sites.
More than $50,000 worth of electronic vaporisers and related products were found and seized by the Health Sciences Authority (HSA).
Furthermore, the eight of them faced a fine of a whopping $172,500—that’s more than enough to buy some Toyota car models. It’s an amount that would hurt anyone’s heart just looking at it.
43 People Caught from Jan 2018 to Feb 2021
The amount of illegal sellers that have been prosecuted for the sale of such illegal electronic vaporisers have only been increasing.
From January 2018 until February this year, a total of 43 people were prosecuted for doing so, with the maximum fine having reached up to $99k—for one person.
It’s a rather frequent occurrence, too.
One woman was caught and fined $11k for selling e-cigarettes on Carousell after a HSA officer went undercover to try buying from her back in December last year.
Another case just one month before that in November last year saw 13 people prosecuted for selling e-cigarettes and accessories, facing a fine of $225,000. Similar to the group of eight, they had also imported the goods illegally from overseas.
Under the Tobacco (Advertising and Sales Control) Act, selling, importing or providing any tobacco electronic vaporisers or related products can result in heavy fines.
First time offenders can be fined up to $10k, face up to six months in jail, or both.
However, if you’re a repeat offender, your sentence may double.
If you’re caught possessing, purchasing or using such devices, you can be fined up to $2,000, even if you don’t use them and merely have them with you.
Contrary to popular belief, e-cigarettes aren’t actually healthier for you: they could cause respiratory diseases due to the PM 2.5 particles, nicotine and cancer-causing chemicals in them.
Feature Image: Hazem.m.kamal / Shutterstock.com (Image is for illustration purposes only)
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