It was a recreational trip that was never meant to be. The man onboard the pleasure craft was yelling in excruciating pain in his left leg. The Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers had to activate the Police Coast Guard (PCG), Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) and Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) to help the man in one way or another. Meanwhile, there was another female on the watercraft who could only look on helplessly. What exactly happened?

2. It was Monday, 5 October at about 6.20pm when ICA officers from the Anti-Smuggling Team boarded the pleasure craft “CINDY” at the Changi Anchorage. The watercraft had just arrived from Batam, Indonesia and there was only a couple onboard. The Singaporean pair claimed to be “just friends” and that they had returned from a holiday trip in Batam. When asked if there are any dutiable items on board the vessel, the 44-year old Chinese man verbally declared that he had one packet of cigarettes and a few cans of beers. The 22-year old Chinese lady, on the other hand, made a nil declaration in her possession. As there was nothing incriminating found at the first instance, the ICA officers then proceeded to check out the vessel as usual.

3. During their routine inspection of the pleasure craft, the experienced ICA officers noticed the unusual demeanour of the man. He was sitting exceptionally still at a spot despite the active movements of the officers within the craft. It was only when the officers attempted to search the space behind him that drama started to unfold. The man suddenly shrieked and claimed that he has hurt himself in his left leg that immobilised him as a result.

4. The inspection came to a standstill as the man kept bawling in pain. The PCG officers who arrived on the scene to assist had to activate the MPA to tow the craft to the Changi Point Ferry Terminal where the SCDF medics rendered medical treatment to the man. After ensuring that the man was duly treated and shifted away from his seat, the ICA officers continued with their search on the area where they had earlier left off – the questionable space behind where the man was seated previously.

5. A few hours since they embarked the pleasure craft, the ICA officers’ hard work finally paid off. Two big red-white-blue plastic bags and a box were found in a hidden compartment within that dubious space. Instead of the usual travelling items, the bags were found to contain 2,412 packets of duty-unpaid cigarettes. The officers also found pallets containing 150 eggs. The total value of the contraband is about S$22,480 while the potential Customs duty and GST payable amount to about S$19,750 and S$1,120 respectively.

6. When questioned by the ICA officers, the man claimed that he was only tasked to deliver the cigarettes while the female passenger maintained that she had no knowledge of the contrabands. The man unrelentingly complained about the pain in his leg and was subsequently sent to the Changi General Hospital, where he was given outpatient treatment. He and his female counterpart were referred to Singapore Customs for further investigations. The pleasure craft and the exhibits were also handed over to the Customs authority.

7. Upon conviction by the court, first time offenders can be fined up to 20 times the amount of duty evaded and liable to a jail term not exceeding three years. For second or subsequent convictions, offenders can be fined up to 40 times the amount of duty evaded and jailed for up to six years. The offenders also face further fines based on the amount of GST evaded. The pleasure craft used in conveying the contraband will also be liable for forfeiture.

8. Our borders are our first line of defence in safeguarding Singapore's security. The enhanced security checks are critical to our nation’s security. We have tightened our security checks on passengers, cargoes and conveyances at the checkpoints to prevent attempts to smuggle in undesirable persons, drugs, weapons, explosives and other contrabands. The same methods of concealment used by contraband smugglers may be used by terrorists to smuggle arms and explosives to carry out more sinister attacks in Singapore.


Contrabands uncovered



The hidden compartment


The loot


The pleasure craft


IMMIGRATION & CHECKPOINTS AUTHORITY
7 OCTOBER 2009