SINGAPORE (Bernama): Over 17,900 individuals were caught for the possession and use of e-vaporisers in Singapore from January last year to March this year, following intensified enforcement by multi-agencies.
The Health Ministry (MOH) and Health Sciences Authority (HSA), in a joint statement, said that more than S$41 million (S$1=RM3.30) worth of e-vaporisers and related components were seized during the same period.
"HSA also prosecuted 60 persons aged 17 to 43 for selling e-vaporisers, including two key individuals involved in a syndicate case worth over S$5 million,” the statement said on Friday.
They were each sentenced to 10 months’ imprisonment and fined S$14,000 and S$16,000 respectively -- the highest sentences to date for smuggling e-vaporisers.
Separately, a key figure in another syndicate linked to a case involving more than S$6.5 million worth of e-vaporisers was also apprehended in October 2024, and investigations are ongoing.
Meanwhile, 101 individuals were caught with e-vaporisers during operations at Singapore’s border checkpoints.
"Travellers bringing prohibited tobacco products into Singapore will be fined, and transport companies and drivers involved in importing these products are liable to prosecution,” the statement added.
MOH and HSA said that convicted foreigners will be deported and barred from re-entering Singapore.
Additionally, more than 6,800 listings of e-vaporisers and related components online were removed, while 15 persons were also identified and fined for posting photographs or videos of e-vaporisers on their social media accounts during the same period.
Under the Tobacco (Control of Advertisements and Sale) Act, the possession, use, or purchase of e-vaporisers carries a maximum fine of S$2,000.
It is also an offence to import, distribute, sell, or offer for sale e-vaporisers and their components.
Any person convicted of such an offence is liable to a fine of up to S$10,000, imprisonment for up to six months, or both for a first offence; and a fine of up to S$20,000, imprisonment for up to 12 months, or both for a second or subsequent offence. - Bernama
