14 weeks’ jail for man who tried to smuggle 870 vapes into Singapore
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Lim Teck Wee, 20, was sentenced to 14 weeks’ jail on Jan 22 after pleading guilty to one count of importing vapes.
ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG
- Lim Teck Wee, a 20-year-old, was jailed for 14 weeks for importing vapes into Singapore for quick money.
- He responded to an advertisement promising up to RM2,000 per delivery, knowing vapes are illegal in Singapore.
- ICA officers found 870 disposable vaporisers in his vehicle; importing vapes can result in a fine of $10,000 and/or 6 months jail.
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SINGAPORE - To earn some fast cash, a man agreed to work as a delivery driver to import vapes into Singapore, despite knowing that vapes are illegal in the country.
Lim Teck Wee, 20, was sentenced to 14 weeks’ jail on Jan 22 after pleading guilty to one count of importing vapes.
As Lim, a Malaysian, would travel to Singapore occasionally for work as a freelance electrician, he decided to deliver the prohibited items after coming across an advertisement in October 2025.
The advertisement promised a salary of between RM1,000 (S$320) and RM2,000 for each job.
When he replied to the ad, Lim was told that the delivery job involved importing vapes and related components into Singapore.
He accepted the job despite knowing that vapes are illegal in Singapore, as he needed the money.
In the second week of October 2025, Lim delivered vapes into Singapore on two occasions and earned a total of RM3,040.
He was caught the following month at Woodlands Checkpoint, where officers from the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority searched the vehicle he drove from Mount Austin in Johor Bahru.
They discovered 870 pieces of disposable vaporisers, among other vape-related items.
In sentencing, District Judge Lim Tse Haw said a deterrent sentence was warranted due to the harm that vapes do to public health.
Those caught importing vapes into Singapore can be fined up to $10,000, jailed for up to six months, or both.
