A 41-year-old female, Wang Shu, was fined $5,000 by the Court today for the illegal import of meat products and salted duck eggs, and advertising the sale of illegally imported meat products online. Wang was also sentenced to 4 weeks imprisonment for threatening a public servant.  

2.          On 28 July 2020, Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers at the Pasir Panjang Scanning Station, Ports Command, detected anomalies in the scanned images of a 40-footer container from China. The container was unstuffed at the importer’s premises on 29 July 2020. During the checks, officers conducted checks and uncovered five pallets of undeclared food products, without a valid import permit. The case was referred to the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) thereafter for investigation.  

3.          SFA’s investigation found that about 36kg of food products were imported by Wang illegally, including assorted meat products such as sausages and beef jerky and salted duck eggs. The illegal consignments were seized. Wang was also found to have advertised the illegally imported meat products on her Facebook account for sale. 

A total of about 36kg of illegally imported food products were detected. (Photo: SFA) 

4.          Subsequently, on 29 October 2020, the Singapore Police Force (SPF) received a report from an SFA officer informing that Wang had confined him in a room at her office and threatened to accuse him of molest if he did not hand over a statement that the officer had taken from Wang for the purpose of investigation. SPF’s investigations revealed that the woman was uncooperative when the SFA officer and his two colleagues were recording a statement from her regarding the illegal import of meat products. When the officer was about to leave the room, the woman had stood in front of the room’s door to prevent him from leaving. She threatened to accuse him of molest if he did not hand over the recorded statement, and shouted “molest” once when the officer did not heed her demand.  

Food imports must meet our food safety requirements 

5.          Illegally imported food products are of unknown sources and pose a food safety risk. In Singapore, food imports must meet SFA’s requirements. Food can only be imported by licensed importers, and every consignment must be declared and accompanied with a valid import permit. In addition, meat and its products can only be imported from accredited sources in approved countries that comply with Singapore’s food safety requirements. Offenders who import meat products illegally from unapproved sources are liable to a fine of $50,000 and/or imprisonment of up to two years and, in the case of a subsequent conviction, to a fine not exceeding $100,000 and/or to imprisonment of up to three years.  

6.          The offence of threat of injury to a public servant under Section 189 of the Penal Code carries an imprisonment term which may extend to two years, or a fine, or both. 

7.          The method of concealment involved in this case is a cause for concern as similar methods may be used by people with ill intent to smuggle security items into Singapore. ICA will continue to conduct security checks on passengers, goods and vehicles so as to safeguard Singapore’s security. SFA will continue to safeguard food safety through our integrated food safety system, which includes strict import regulations and enforcement, as well as working closely with border control agencies to deter illegal import across our borders. 

IMMIGRATION & CHECKPOINTS AUTHORITY
SINGAPORE FOOD AGENCY
SINGAPORE POLICE FORCE
12 SEPTEMBER 2022