Singaporean Man Jailed for Over a Year for Tampering With E-Cigarette Evidence and Drug Possession While on the Run

Key Points:

·The man was hired to monitor a warehouse storing seized e-cigarettes, with plans to assist in their theft.

·He was caught with drugs in his car, fled to Malaysia while on bail, and was later extradited back to Singapore.

·He was sentenced on multiple charges; the seized e-cigarettes were worth over S$6.5 million (approx. US$5.07 million).

【2Firsts News Flash】 According to CNA's report on July 7th, the man was commissioned by an illegal e-cigarette importer to monitor the drugs hidden by the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) of Singapore, which were valued at over 6 million Singapore dollars (approximately $4.7 million).

36-year-old Chee Wai Yuen was sentenced to one year, one month, and six weeks of imprisonment on July 7, 2024 for multiple offenses. He pleaded guilty to five charges, including drug trafficking, obstructing justice, and illegal departure, with four additional charges pending.

In March 2024, Chee, at the direction of Chua Wee Ming, was sent to the court's secure warehouse to monitor the storage of over 180,000 e-cigarettes and 350,000 accessories by the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) – valued at approximately $6.5 million on the black market. Chua intended to arrange for either himself or someone else to steal these items, which were evidence for future prosecution.

Chee was discovered by HSA personnel while under surveillance, and when he tried to leave by falsely claiming he was in the wrong place, he was stopped. The police found drug-related items containing ketamine in his car, and methamphetamine was detected in his urine. He admitted to drug use and using tools in his car to ingest drugs. He was subsequently charged in court, granted bail, and had his passport confiscated.

In April, Chee, following prearranged plans by Chua, went into hiding in a truck in order to escape to Malaysia. He was later issued a warrant for failing to appear in court as scheduled. In October, Chee was finally arrested in Malaysia and extradited back to Singapore.

The prosecution emphasized that although the case involves a large number of individuals, the impact on the judiciary is limited due to the fact that the theft was not actually carried out and there was insufficient surveillance preparedness.