Man Sentenced to Six Weeks in Jail for E-cigarette Offenses

According to a report from Singapore's Lianhe Zaobao on January 11, a 27-year-old man surnamed Lin was caught by the police during a surprise inspection while delivering goods in a parking lot. He failed to comply with police instructions and drove away, nearly hitting an officer in the process. After successfully apprehending him, the police found over 2000 e-cigarettes and related accessories in his possession.

Lin has been charged with ten offences, including intentionally offending public servants and violating the Tobacco (Control of Advertisement and Sale) Act. He had previously admitted to six of these charges and was sentenced on January 10, 2024, to six weeks of imprisonment, a fine of 11,000 Singapore dollars (equivalent to approximately 8,272 US dollars), and a one-year suspension of all driving privileges.

According to reports, this incident took place on the evening of March 28, 2023, at approximately 7:37 pm, at the multi-storey car park located at 592 Monte Lim Road, Sembawang. The case revealed that at 6 pm that evening, Lin obtained a package containing e-cigarettes and went to the scene to make a delivery. At 7:37 pm, the police arrived at the scene after receiving a report and found a group of people moving multiple packages.

After Officer Lin arrived at the scene, he immediately got into a truck attempting to escape. The officer issued several warnings for Lin to stop, but he continued driving and tried to flee. As Lin attempted to drive away in the truck, the officer tried to get in and make him stop, but Lin ignored this and even attempted to push the officer's hand away. One officer tried to enter through the door but Lin reversed the vehicle, causing the officer to quickly move out of the way to avoid being hit. Ultimately, through the combined efforts of the two officers, Lin was forced to stop the truck and was subsequently arrested.

The court revealed that personnel from the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) discovered 679 e-cigarettes and over 1700 e-cigarette pods in Lin's parcel during a subsequent investigation. Lin admitted to the HSA after his arrest that he had been part-time delivering these goods for nearly three months, earning a total of over $10,000 in profit. According to court documents, he was previously arrested in February 2022 for possession of 745 e-cigarettes. Lin pleaded for leniency during the court proceedings, citing financial difficulties. He stated that he had already apologized to the officers upon his arrest and appealed to the judge to recognize his remorse.