Jail, fine, caning and driving ban for man who committed multiple offences

A cleaner who committed a series of offences while trying to evade arrest for smuggling cigarettes was jailed for five years and three months and ordered to be given three strokes of the cane on Tuesday.

Khairun Nizar Isnin, 33, was also fined $2,000 and banned from driving for three years.

He admitted to seven of 14 charges. Among them, for causing grievous hurt to an Immigration and Checkpoints Authority inspector; driving-related offences and conspiracy to store goods that had not passed through customs last October.

The court heard that a party of ICA officers were at a Jurong East multi-storey carpark on Oct 29 to arrest a suspect for contraband cigarette smuggling.

ICA inspector Teo Hwee Peng, 40, and ASP Tan Kar Keong, 35, were in an unmarked car which had stopped in front of Khairun's van to block his escape.

The two officers, together with two others, got down and identified themselves. They shouted at Khairun to stop but he ignored them and continued to move his vehicle forwards and backwards in a bid to escape.

The officers used their nightsticks to shatter the van's windows.

When Mr Teo reached into the driver's cabin to remove the ignition key, Khairun swung a 60cm-long metal rod at him, breaking his forearm.

ASP Tan then tried to open the van's passenger door. But Khairun continued to move his van forwards and backwards to ram the car parked in front of it. He ran over ASP Tan's right foot and the latter fell and injured his knee.

Investigations showed that Khairun had rented the van three weeks earlier, changed the number plates, and driven without a licence and insurance coverage.

Police officers raided his home the next day and found four brown bags of duty unpaid cigarettes weighing 43.72kg, with excise duty amounting to $15,389.

Investigations also showed he had been hired by a syndicate to deliver duty unpaid cigarettes, and to store them at a warehouse in Jurong. The warehouse was rented by Master Supply Trading, which was registered in the name of Khairun's father.

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