Over 17,900 individuals were caught for the possession and use of e-vaporisers 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 more than S$41mil (RM135mil) 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$5mil (RM16.4mil),” the statement said on Friday.
They were each sentenced to 10 months’ imprisonment and fined S$14,000 (RM46,000) and S$16,000 (RM52,700) 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$6.5mil (RM21.4mil) 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. — Bernama
