Certis officers charged over claims they kept vapes, contraband cigarettes dumped in HSA bins

SINGAPORE – A group of officers from security company Certis have been charged in court over claims that they consumed e-vaporisers and duty-unpaid cigarettes they had recovered in the course of their duties.

These include duty-unpaid cigarettes dumped in Health Sciences Authority (HSA) bins placed at various checkpoints.

Some of the officers are accused of misappropriating more than $18,000 in vapes and duty-unpaid cigarettes, while the rest are accused of receiving $1,438 worth of stolen products.

According to the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB), four of the officers allegedly obstructed investigations by deleting records of their actions and disposing of the evidence when CPIB officers came knocking in 2022.

The officers charged in the State Courts on Jan 30 include 12 men.

They are Muhammad Fitri Jaffar, 38, Reggie Choo Beng Kwang, 32, Muhammad Syafiq Tahar, 39, Mohamad Aidil Abu Bakar, 47, Muhamad Hazim Mohamed Jalil, 33, Sufian Mohamed, 45, Muhammad Faddley Abdul Wahid, 38, Mohamed Fiaros Mohamed Zakaria, 43, Muhammad Haziq Khamzah, 31, Muhammad Khairul Izzul Shah Abdul Karim, 38, Nurazmy Yusoff, 33, and Tan Wee Keong, 38.

One woman, Olivia Chan Wei Ying, 39, was also charged.

All of them were working as enforcement officers at Certis at the time of the offences.

A Certis spokesperson told The Straits Times that all 13 individuals were no longer with the company at the point the offences were uncovered.

“Certis does not condone such criminal acts and we expect our officers to uphold the highest level of discipline and professionalism,” the spokesperson said.

“We have since reviewed and implemented additional control measures to tighten our processes. Certis will not hesitate to take firm action against any employee who breaches our required standard.”

Singapore Customs and HSA said their investigations found that Fitri, Syafiq, Aidil, Hazim, Faddley, Fiaros, Haziq and Chan had allegedly misappropriated property between 2019 and 2022.

The enforcement officers are said to have taken for themselves duty-unpaid cigarettes, vapes, vape pods and other prohibited tobacco products they had found.

The products were worth $18,327.

Fitri, Syafiq, Aidil, Hazim, Sufian, Faddley, Fiaros, Haziq, Khairul and Nurazmy are also accused of receiving stolen duty-unpaid cigarettes and vape pods from one another and other individuals between 2021 and 2022.

These stolen products were valued at $1,438.

Meanwhile, Faddley, Fiaros, Tan and Choo are accused of obstructing the course of justice during CPIB’s investigations in 2022.

Faddley had allegedly thrown his stash of vapes, vape pods and duty-unpaid cigarettes into a rubbish chute of his Housing Board flat before opening the front door of his home to CPIB officers.

Fiaros is accused of deleting a note in his phone that contained the records of 45 vape pods he had taken over the course of his work. He allegedly did this after finding out that Sufian was being investigated.

Tan is accused of revealing information about CPIB’s investigation to Choo, who then disposed of the vape products he had. Choo subsequently deleted his messages with Tan.

In 2022, Faddley, Syafiq, Aidil and Hazim were caught with vape products that they allegedly admitted were used for their personal consumption. These products are said to be from seizures they had made.

Fitri, Syafiq, Aidil and Faddley are also accused of taking duty-unpaid cigarettes from HSA disposal bins at various checkpoints for their personal consumption.

As part of their job, the four men were tasked to dispose of the cigarettes and vapes in the disposal bins.

All 13 Certis officers will return for a pre-trial conference fixed for March 5.

Offenders found to have committed criminal breach of trust can be jailed for up to 20 years and fined.

Those found guilty of receiving stolen property can be jailed for up to five years, fined, or both.

If found guilty of obstructing the course of justice, an offender can be jailed for up to seven years, fined, or both.

Those found in possession of vapes or found to have purchased vapes can be fined $2,000. Meanwhile, those found to be possessing or storing duty-unpaid cigarettes can be fined up to 40 times the amount of duty and goods and services tax evaded, and also jailed for up to six years.