According to the Singapore Food Agency (SFA), a company and it’s director was each fined $5,000 after illegally importing vegetables into Singapore.

Here is what SFA said:

Topstar Trading Pte Ltd, an importer of vegetables and processed food products, was fined $5000 by the Court today for illegally importing fresh vegetables for sale. Its Director, Tiong Lee Chian, was also fined $5000 for failing to prevent the offence from being committed.

On 23 March 2021, SFA officers detected approximately 250kg of undeclared and under-declared fresh vegetables in the consignments imported from Malaysia by the importer.

In Singapore, food imports must meet SFA’s requirements. Fruits and vegetables can only be imported by licensed importers, and every consignment must be declared and accompanied with a valid import permit. Illegally imported vegetables are of unknown sources and can pose a food safety risk (e.g. if unregulated or high level of pesticides are used).

Offenders who illegally import fresh fruits and vegetables shall be liable on conviction to a maximum fine of $10,000 and/or imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years.

According to the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA), ICA caught an attempt to smuggle alcohol in Singapore that was hidden in Tissue paper packages.

Here is what ICA said:

On 15 July, ICA officers at Tuas Port foiled an attempt to smuggle Chinese bamboo wine into Singapore.

Our officers had noticed anomalies in the scanned images of an inbound container and an unstuffing operation was conducted at the importer’s premises. 120 bottles of Chinese bamboo wine were found hidden below packets of tissue paper. The consignment was declared as “household items”.

The case was referred to Singapore Customs for further investigation. This resulted in the arrest of one female Chinese national and the seizure of 72 bottles of Chinese bamboo wine and 30 bottles of Chinese samsoo from her residence.

Safeguarding Singapore’s borders remains as the top priority for ICA. We will continue to stay vigilant and thwart smuggling attempts through Singapore’s borders.

Penalties:

Under the Customs Act, any person who is guilty of dealing with dutiable goods with the intention to defraud the Government of any duty and GST will be liable on conviction to a fine of up to 20 times the amount of duty and GST evaded.

Image Source: ICA

41-year-old Sita Farihah, was sentenced to 4 weeks imprisonment on 26 July after pleading guilty to one count of voluntarily causing hurt to a vulnerable victim.

The maid had grown annoyed at taking care of a 74-year-old bedridden woman with dementia, and hit her on the face after using tissue paper to wipe her roughly.

The Indonesian maid was hired by the elderly victim’s 43-year-old Singaporean son, and they lived together in Lorong Ah Soo.

The man was in his room on 14 February earlier this year when he heard his mother shouting for his wife.

Only the man, his mother and the maid were around at the time.

The man then rushed outside and saw his mother sitting on a chair in the living room, with the maid feeding her.

He then checked on his mother and noticed that there was redness on her right cheek and lips, and he then asked her what happened.

The victim then told him that the maid had hit her, and he then retrieved CCTV footage placed in his living room, and the police were then called the following day.

It was later revealed after investigations, that before the victim had called for the man’s wife, the maid had been wiping her (the victim’s) hand roughly with a tissue paper.

The maid then threw the tissue at her, before climbing on her and wiping her face in a rough manner as well, before hitting her on the right side of her face.

The elderly woman then sought treatment at Sengkang General Hospital on 15 February and she was found with bruising on her right cheek.

In a ceremony held at Woodlands Police Division on 19 July 2022, two members of the public were commended for their public spiritedness in assisting in the detection of a man.

On 21 May 2022 at 12.05am, the panic alarm was activated at the Woodlands Checkpoint Departure area. The Police were informed that a 22-year-old man had allegedly abandoned his vehicle at one of the car counters and ran away towards the departure car zone before immigration clearance.

A search was conducted to trace the whereabouts of the man. At about 12.20am, Mr Lim Jun Sheng and Mr Aloysius Lim Wai Meng approached a police officer at the departure car clearance zone and shared information on the man’s whereabouts, including the location that the man was last seen. The information provided by them led to the swift detection and arrest of the man for theft of motor vehicle. Police investigations are ongoing.

Assistant Commissioner of Police (AC) Ang Eng Seng, Commander of Woodlands Police Division said, “We had the privilege today to present the Public Spiritedness Award to Mr Lim Jun Sheng and Mr Aloysius Lim Wai Meng. This is in recognition of their invaluable contribution where the information provided to the Police led to the discovery of one man who was evading the Police and was subsequently arrested for motor vehicle theft. The act by Mr Lim Jun Sheng and Mr Aloysius Lim Wai Meng is a fine example of how members of the public can step up to assist the Police. We hope that their act will serve to inspire others to keep the community safe.”

PUBLIC AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
25 July 2022 @ 3:05 PM