SINGAPORE – A man who lost money while gambling tried to take his chances with a part-time job delivering vapes, but it only landed him into further trouble.
Lee Wenjie, 32, was detained by Health Sciences Authority (HSA) officers at a commercial building where he packed the vapes – at 16 Jalan Kilang Timor in Redhill.
They found 8,539 vapes and 8,697 e-cigarette pods meant for sale in a unit at the building.
On Feb 3, Lee was sentenced to 14 weeks’ jail after he admitted to two charges involving possession of imitation tobacco products, and their components, for sale.
He was fined $3,000 for a separate offence of bringing excess cash over the Causeway without reporting it to an officer.
Two other charges of possessing vapes and their components for sale were taken into consideration for his sentencing.
While handing down the sentence, District Judge Terence Tay highlighted the seriousness of vaping.
“I accept that vaping presents serious health issues, and is exacerbated by the fact that young people, including young students, are also exposed (to vaping),” he said.
The court heard that in October or early November 2023, after losing a large amount of money while gambling in Lorong 23 Geylang, Lee requested a part-time job from a dealer.
The latter introduced him to a job delivering vape devices and their components. Lee was told to head to the Redhill unit, and was added to a group chat where he would be given daily orders for delivery.
Lee’s job was to pack the goods according to orders received. With another man known as Ryan Leong Chee Wai, they started packing orders at about 2pm and would leave the unit at around 3pm to deliver them.
He was paid between $10 and $12 per trip, and had 10 to 20 deliveries a day.
HSA’s legal counsel Vishnu Aditya Naidu said: “(Lee) was well aware that imitation tobacco products and their components are illegal in Singapore.”
On July 8, 2024, HSA officers carried out an operation at the Redhill building based on information received. At about 4pm, Lee and Leong left the unit carrying a number of parcels.
HSA officers detained the two men and seized the parcels, which contained imitation tobacco products and components. The parcel Lee had contained 186 vapes and 345 e-cigarette pods.
Court documents did not state if Leong, 44, has been dealt with.
Separately, Deputy Public Prosecutor Sarah Ong told the court about an offence involving Lee moving $110,757 in cash out of Singapore in July 2022.
Those who move more than $20,000 in cash in or out of Singapore are legally required to make a report, but Lee did not do so.
According to Lee, $96,757 was part of the proceeds he received from selling USDT cryptocurrency, while $14,000 were funds which he kept on hand for the purpose of trading.
He told investigators that he would buy USDT cryptocurrency, then transfer USDT to buyers who would pass him cash, profiting from the price difference.
On July 6, 2022, Lee completed a sale of USDT and received $132,757 in cash from the buyer. He subsequently deposited $36,000 into another person’s Citibank account.
That same night, Lee drove to Johor Bahru with his girlfriend via Woodlands Checkpoint as they had made plans to have supper and refuel the car.
When he drove back to Singapore after 1am on July 7, ICA officers found the money stashed in various parts of his car while searching the vehicle. Lee claimed he was not aware of the requirement to report the excess cash.
Lee, who joined court proceedings via video-link, was represented by Mr Teo Choo Kee of CK Teo & Co.