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Cutting “Corners” with “Cornices“
The smuggler must have thought that he could cut corners with the consignment declared as 600 pieces of “plain sheet panels” and 2,400 pieces of cornices and corners. However, his efforts were in vain as his attempt was foiled by the vigilant officers at the checkpoint.
2 On 2 April 2007, at about 0745 hrs, a Malaysia-registered lorry arriving at Woodlands Checkpoint was diverted by ICA officers for a more detailed inspection. The car was driven by a lone male Malaysian driver who appeared nervous and avoided eye contact with the ICA officer. The ICA officers proceeded to conduct a thorough check of the consignment and found cartons of cigarettes, wrapped with carbon paper, hidden within cut-out hollow spaces in the centre of the stacks of plain sheet panels. A total of 4,000 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes were retrieved from the lorry. The total Customs duties and GST involved are estimated to be $298,000.00 and $18,000 respectively.
3 The driver, a 47-year-old Indian, was immediately placed under arrest. The case has been handed over to Singapore Customs for further investigations.
Related penalties
4 Upon conviction by the court, first time offenders can be fined up to a maximum of 20 times the amount of duty evaded. For second or subsequent convictions, offenders can be jailed for up to two years, as well as being fined. The offenders also face further fines based on the amount of GST evaded.
Security at our checkpoints
5 As our country's first line of defence against terrorist threats, ICA has a duty to ensure the security and safety of Singapore. 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 contraband. The same methods of concealment used by contraband smugglers may be used by terrorists to smuggle arms and explosives to carry out attacks in Singapore. We would like to advise the public against smuggling unlawful goods into Singapore.
2 On 2 April 2007, at about 0745 hrs, a Malaysia-registered lorry arriving at Woodlands Checkpoint was diverted by ICA officers for a more detailed inspection. The car was driven by a lone male Malaysian driver who appeared nervous and avoided eye contact with the ICA officer. The ICA officers proceeded to conduct a thorough check of the consignment and found cartons of cigarettes, wrapped with carbon paper, hidden within cut-out hollow spaces in the centre of the stacks of plain sheet panels. A total of 4,000 cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes were retrieved from the lorry. The total Customs duties and GST involved are estimated to be $298,000.00 and $18,000 respectively.
3 The driver, a 47-year-old Indian, was immediately placed under arrest. The case has been handed over to Singapore Customs for further investigations.
Related penalties
4 Upon conviction by the court, first time offenders can be fined up to a maximum of 20 times the amount of duty evaded. For second or subsequent convictions, offenders can be jailed for up to two years, as well as being fined. The offenders also face further fines based on the amount of GST evaded.
Security at our checkpoints
5 As our country's first line of defence against terrorist threats, ICA has a duty to ensure the security and safety of Singapore. 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 contraband. The same methods of concealment used by contraband smugglers may be used by terrorists to smuggle arms and explosives to carry out attacks in Singapore. We would like to advise the public against smuggling unlawful goods into Singapore.