On 8 Mar 2006 at around 1750 hrs, an ICA officer stopped and checked a male Malay Singaporean arriving at the Singapore Cruise Centre on a ferry from Batam, Indonesia. A body search yielded a packet of 40 grams of shag tobacco hidden inside his back pockets and three packets of Romilar tablets, a controlled substance under the Poisons Act, stuffed in the front of his underwear.

2 When interviewed, the subject claimed that the tablets were for his personal consumption and that he had bought them from a "Jamu" shop at Batam. He also acknowledged that he did not have a license issued by Health Sciences Authority (HSA) to import the Romilar tablets.

3 The subject was referred to the Singapore Customs and was fined $320 for possession of the duty-unpaid shag tobacco. The shag tobacco was subsequently destroyed by the Singapore Customs. The Romilar tablets were seized and handed over to HSA for further investigations.

4 Under the Poisons Act, it is an offence to import, possess for sale, or offer for sale any poison, or product containing any poison without a license issued by HSA. Anyone found guilty of an offence under the Poisons Act is liable, on conviction, to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or both.

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. We would like to advise the public against smuggling unlawful goods into Singapore.