A CHINESE national was fined $19,000 for smuggling 160 packets of cigarettes through parcel post.
The duty and GST evaded amounted to over $1,228.
On Nov 3, officers from the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) at Parcel Post Station screened a parcel which had arrived in Singapore from South Korea. The parcel was addressed to a Wang Zhong of Paya Lebar. It was declared to contain foodstuff, but officers suspected that the contents were cigarettes.
The case was handed over to Singapore Customs.
Singapore Customs officers initiated the delivery of the parcel to Wang's address on Nov 29. Wang, 23, received the parcel and was immediately detained for questioning.
The parcel was found to contain 160 packets of duty unpaid cigarettes.
Wang had arranged with his friend in Korea to send the cigarettes to him by post, thinking that he could avoid detection by declaring it as foodstuff.
Wang was charged in Court on Monday. He pleaded guilty to the charges and was fined $19,000, or seven weeks jail in default.
Since 2006, there have been 56 cases of using parcel-post delivery to smuggle duty-unpaid cigarettes. All offenders were charged in Court or fined.
A Singapore Customs spokesman said that as long as cigarettes are brought into Singapore, regardless of the methods of import, duty and GST must be paid. Failure to do so is an offence.
Buyers face a minimum fine of $500 or prosecution in Court for each packet of duty-unpaid cigarettes..
