Recalcitrant man fined S$11m, jailed 50 months for dealing in contraband cigarettes

SINGAPORE — A 58-year-old man has been fined S$11 million and jailed 50 months for dealing in duty-unpaid cigarettes, the Singapore Customs said on Tuesday (Feb 27).

Tong Chye Heng, a repeat offender, did not pay the massive fine and will be jailed for another 31 months, bringing his total jail term to 81 months. The S$11 million fine is the highest handed down by the State Courts for such offences since October 3 2014, when another offender was fined S$14 million and jailed three years and six months for dealing in duty-unpaid cigarettes.

Tong pleaded guilty to five charges of storing, possessing and dealing in duty-unpaid cigarettes between June 2 and Dec 7 last year. The State Courts took another five charges into consideration when sentencing him on Monday.

Tong had been sentenced on four previous occasions for customs offences committed since 1998.

As a repeat offender, he faced tougher punishment under the Customs Act, including a mandatory jail term of up to six years and a heavier fine of no less than 30 times the duty or Goods and Services Tax (GST) evaded.

On March 15 2006, he was fined S$110,000 for importing 41 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes. At that time, he served 28 months’ jail as he did not pay the fine.

Tong was caught again on June 2 last year for storing 2,926 cartons, 370 packets and 43 sticks of duty-unpaid cigarettes in a firm in Sungei Tengah Road and in a commercial building in Soon Lee Street. He was charged the next day.

While he was out on bail, Tong was nabbed in a carpark in Jurong West Street 41 during a Singapore Customs operation on Dec 5 the same year.

Officers from the Singapore Customs arrested Tong when he was transferring a box of duty-unpaid cigarettes from his van to a car in the car park. A total of 731 cartons and 190 packets of duty-unpaid cigarettes were seized from Tong’s van.

Two days later, Singapore Customs officers followed up with a raid at a unit that Tong rented at an industrial building in Eunos Avenue 3. Officers found an additional 624 cartons and 469 packets of duty-unpaid cigarettes.

The total duty and GST evaded for the duty-unpaid cigarettes seized in the operations in June and December last year came to about S$377,150 and S$27, 330 respectively, according to the Singapore Customs.

Offenders who buy, sell, convey, deliver, store, keep and possess or deal in duty-unpaid goods can be fined up to 40 times the amount of duty and GST evaded and/or jailed up to six years.

Repeat offenders who are caught with more than two kilogrammes of tobacco products will also face mandatory jail term. Vehicles used for such offences are also liable to be forfeited.