A Singaporean man has been fined S$16 million and imprisoned for 30 months for repeatedly dealing with duty-unpaid cigarettes.
He had hidden the cigarettes in the excavator’s arms.
He will also serve an additional 25 months and one day of jail for not paying the fine.
Here’s what happened.
Man Fined $16M & Jailed 39 Months for Smuggling Cigarettes in Excavator Arms
Loh Hu Seong, 58, had been caught working with a Malaysian man back in 2018 to smuggle duty-unpaid cigarettes into Singapore, in exchange for S$1,000 to S$2,000 for each shipment.
He is a repeat offender who had been sentenced to 30 months’ imprisonment in 2016 for the same crime.
According to Singapore Customs on Thursday (1 July), he even went to search for warehouses in Singapore to carry out the operation.
Together with the Malaysian man, Loh searched for excavator parts in Singapore to conceal the cigarettes.
He rented an industrial unit in Tuas South Street 1 to take apart the excavators and obtain the cigarettes.
Singapore Customs carried out a raid on the industrial unit and found 5,428 cartons and 25 packets of duty-unpaid cigarettes.
Many of the cigarettes had been hidden in recycled excavator arms.
The total amount of goods and services tax (GST) that had been evaded was S$552,410.
Five men were arrested, and Singapore Customs is currently investigating the Malaysian man.
According to investigations, Loh had also been involved in “a criminal conspiracy” together with another Singaporean man during the same period.
Loh had told the man that he was in need of the excavator’s arms with holes in them to conceal cigarettes.
The man asked a worker to make holes in the excavator’s arms and placed brackets with screws at the corners to conceal the hidden areas.
Court proceedings are currently ongoing against the man.
Being a repeat offender, Loh’s punishment was enhanced this time.
The assistant director-general of Singapore Customs’ intelligence and investigation arm, Mr Yeo Sew Meng, said: “Singapore Customs will not let up in our efforts to clamp down on cigarette smuggling activities. The jail sentence and fine imposed serve as a reminder of the stiff penalties repeat offenders face. Those who are contemplating illegal cigarette activities should think carefully about the consequences when they are caught.”
Man Hid Cigarettes in Boxes Labelled “Dried Noodles”
If you thought the excavator’s arms were crazy, wait till you hear about this one.
A Chinese national was arrested in January this year for hiding 2,300 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes in boxes labelled “dried noodles”.
Big yikes.
Before you get any even crazier ideas, may I remind you that buying, selling and dealing with or possessing duty-unpaid goods can result in fines of up to 40 times the amount of duty and GST evaded.
Convicted offenders could also be imprisoned for up to six years.
You can read more about this bizarre case here.
Featured Image: Singapore Customs
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