Are you guilty of patronising the suspicious-looking pirated discs stalls (or rather tables) that are set up at inconspicuous corners of buildings? Do you find yourself unable to resist the temptation to purchase the latest blockbusters at unbelievably dirt-cheap prices? To save yourself the fear of ferrying the illegal stuff across the checkpoints, have you preferred to pay a “fee” for someone else to ‘transport’ the discs to your doorstep? If you have been a culprit of these evils, you might want to think twice as your insatiable demand could land the smugglers behind bars.

2 On 4 November 2008, a 28 year-old male Singaporean chose to challenge officers from the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) by bringing uncensored discs in return for a reduction in his loan from a piracy syndicate. Unfortunately for him, our officers at the Woodlands Checkpoint outwitted him.

3 The young driver pulled into the checkpoint shortly after midnight. Convinced that the illegal imports are safely tucked away, he remained cool and collected when his car was directed for inspection. Beneath the cool appearance belied an anxiety which did not escape the eyes of our vigilant officers. While inspecting the vehicle, the officers found that the fuel tank appeared different. It seemed to be lower than usual and had a fresh coat of paint over it.

4 Upon interrogation on the ownership of the vehicle, the subject was evasive, giving incongruent and frustrated responses. He was reluctant to be engaged into the questioning and displayed shifty behavioural cues. At this point, the officers wasted no time and launched into a thorough inspection of the vehicle. Their efforts were rewarded when the officers caught a glimpse of plastic jackets in the modified fuel tank beneath the backseats of the car. Inside the modified fuel tank were approximately 1,820 pieces of obscene and uncensored discs.



Photo 1: What actually lies beneath – Obscenity and deceit



Photo 2: Uncovering the story plot(s)

5 It was at this point of discovery that the young Chinese driver finally broke down and admitted knowledge to the uncensored and suspected obscene discs found. He claimed that he was instructed to collect the vehicle with the stash from a carpark at a shopping mall in Johor Bahru. He was then told to drive the car into Singapore and park it at Sim Lim Tower. Plagued by financial difficulties, he was enticed and accepted the offer that the payment for the job would be deducted from his loan from the syndicate.

6 The subject and the illegal optical discs have been handed over to the Singapore Police Force for further investigations. Under the Copyright Act (Cap 63), persons found guilty of selling or distributing articles of any work in which copyright or trademark subsists are liable to a fine of up to $10,000/- per article (or up to a maximum fine of $100,000/-), and/or to a jail term up to 5 years. Under the Films Act (Cap 107), persons found guilty of importing obscene films are liable to a fine not less than $1,000/- for each film imported (but not exceeding aggregate of $40,000/-), and/or to a jail term up to 12 months. Repeat offenders are liable to a fine not less than $2,000/- for each film imported (but not exceeding aggregate of $100,000/-), and/or to a jail term up to 2 years.

7 Of late, ICA has seen many syndicates exploiting the use of cash-strapped travellers to ply across the causeway to smuggle in contrabands and other illegal items. In most of these cases, the subjects agreed to help the syndicates for a paltry sum since little effort is perceived to be required of them. Often, they are easily exploited by syndicate members who convinced them that ICA is unlikely to subject them to strict checks due to the sheer daily vehicular and traveller volume. However, they are usually not told the downside of the deal. They might be successful once or twice but the long arms of the law will eventually catch up with them.

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 and vehicles at the checkpoints to prevent attempts to smuggle in undesirable persons, drugs, weapons, explosives and other contrabands.


IMMIGRATION & CHECKPOINTS AUTHORITY
5 NOVEMBER 2008