SINGAPORE: A man reported a break-in at his warehouse, claiming that IT gadgets had been stolen, but they turned out to be e-vaporisers and related products.
Lim Zhi Wei, a 38-year-old Singaporean, was fined S$8,500 (US$6,360) on Thursday (Dec 7) for selling or advertising imitation tobacco products.
If he cannot pay the fine, he will have to serve 17 days’ jail in default. According to CNA’s checks on Friday, he has not paid the fine.
Lim pleaded guilty to four charges under the Tobacco (Control of Advertisements and Sale) Act of selling or advertising imitation tobacco products.
Another six charges were considered in sentencing.
The court heard that Lim had made a complaint about housebreaking, where IT gadgets were stolen from a warehouse that he was in charge of and working in.
Police investigations revealed that the stolen items were e-cigarette devices and related components, and not IT gadgets.
The matter was referred to the Health Sciences Authority (HSA), and Lim was apprehended on May 13, 2022.
The police seized 60,050 pods, 172 boxes of vaporisers with pods, 1,601 box sets of vaporisers without pods, 296 pieces of vaporisers without pods, 22 pieces of disposable vaporisers and 27 bags of assorted vaporisers and pods, among other things.
HSA searched Lim’s home and found more e-cigarettes and components. Other prohibited items were also found in the rental car he used.
Lim admitted that he had been packing e-cigarettes and related components, selling and delivering them in Singapore.
He advertised the prohibited items in a chat conversation and claimed that he had been carrying out these activities to a purported Malaysian man named Jason.
Lim also alleged that another person he knew as William was involved in operations.
Lim said he was paid S$10 for every parcel that he delivered and S$1 for every parcel that he packed.
In the two months he spent packing and delivering parcels of e-cigarettes and related components, he received about S$2,000 to S$3,000 as payment, he said.
Investigations revealed that Lim sold a person 50 boxes of assorted flavours of pods for S$9 per box on WhatsApp in April 2022.
He also advertised “root beer” flavoured pods to another person on WhatsApp in February 2022, sending a photo for the buyer to consider purchasing them.
Lim also sold 13 boxes containing 39 grape-flavoured pods for S$300 to a person on WhatsApp.
Lim received payment through PayLah and delivered the pods to the buyer’s maid at a void deck in Bishan.
For selling or offering for sale an imitation tobacco product, a first-time offender can be jailed for up to six months, fined up to S$10,000, or both.
Repeat offenders face double the maximum fine and jail term.