Lorry driver charged after he allegedly helped man out on bail leave S’pore illegally

SINGAPORE - A Malaysian lorry driver appeared in a district court on Oct 25 after he allegedly helped a man who was out on bail to leave Singapore for Johor illegally.

Thanesh Murugan, 23, is said to have allowed Chee Wai Yuen, 36, to hide behind the driver’s seat of a Malaysia-registered lorry, which allegedly travelled to Malaysia on April 5 via Tuas Checkpoint without Chee showing his passport to the authorities.

Thanesh was handed a charge under the Immigration Act on Oct 25. His case has been adjourned to Nov 1.

Chee, who is also a Malaysian, was charged in March after

he allegedly took part in a plan that month to break into a warehouse

unit, to steal vaping-related items that the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) had seized.

Details on the exact location of the warehouse cannot be disclosed due to a gag order.

Chee and two Singaporean men – Elvin Suriaganandhan, 22, and Lim Zhi Wei, 38 – were each handed a housebreaking charge.

After being charged, Chee was out on bail when he allegedly left Singapore illegally for his home country the following month.

Chee, Elvin and Lim are allegedly in a conspiracy with Chua Wee Ming, 33, to commit housebreaking and steal vaping-related items worth more than $6 million.

On Oct 18, Chua, who is said to be a key member of a syndicate dealing in e-vaporisers,

was handed multiple charges for offences

including cheating and performing an act that could obstruct the course of justice. He is said to have arranged for a driver to ferry Chee from Singapore to Malaysia.

Chua was arrested following an islandwide operation on Oct 10.

In a joint statement, the police and HSA said: “Preliminary investigations indicate that he allegedly orchestrated the importation and distribution of e-vaporisers from Malaysia into Singapore and has been supplying to the local residents.”

The cases involving Chua, Chee, Elvin and Lim are still pending.