On June 25, 2021, a Singaporean man named Loh Hu Seong, 58, was sentenced to 39 months in prison and a fine of $16,001,500 by the State Courts for dealing with duty-unpaid cigarettes under the Customs Act and for being a party to a criminal conspiracy to deal with duty-unpaid cigarettes under the Penal Code.
He will serve an extra 25 months jail for not being able to pay the $16 million fine.
According to investigations, Loh colluded with an unknown guy and a Malaysian man to bring duty-free cigarettes from Malaysia to Singapore sometime in September 2018. For each successful shipment, he was promised between $1,000 and $2,000 in payment. Loh and the Malaysian man entered the country on September 14, 2018.
They came to Singapore to look for excavator components to use as cover loads for duty-free cigarettes. They looked for warehouses at the same time, and Loh ended up renting an industrial unit on Tuas South Street 1 for the deconstruction and retrieval of the cigarettes.
On November 7, 2018, Singapore Customs discovered 5,428 cartons and 25 packs of duty-free cigarettes hidden in recycled excavator arms imported from Malaysia during an operation at an industrial site in Tuas South Street 1.
Following that, five men were apprehended and dealt with separately. The entire amount of duty and GST avoided was almost $514,900 and $37,510, respectively. Loh was found guilty of dealing with uncustomed commodities under the Customs Act for his role in this case.
Loh also engaged in a criminal plot with a Singaporean individual between September and October 2018, according to investigations. He bought excavator arms from a Singaporean man and instructed him that he required holes drilled in the arms to conceal duty-free cigarettes.
After that, the Singaporean hired a craftsman to cut holes in the excavator arms and install brackets with screws in the corners to conceal the hidden areas. Loh was found guilty of engaging in a criminal conspiracy to deal in duty-unpaid cigarettes under the Penal Code for his role in the scam. The Singaporean man’s case is still being heard in court.
After being extradited from Malaysia for these crimes, Loh was hauled into Singapore Customs custody on January 15, 2021. He was previously convicted and sentenced to 30 months in prison for dealing with duty-unpaid cigarettes, with a total value of $136,570 and $13,740 in duty and GST, respectively.
Images Source: Singapore Customs