Man jailed for pretending to be an ICA officer to steal contraband cigarettes

Jasmin Eyple was jailed for five weeks for pretending to be an ICA officer. PHOTO: ST FILE

SINGAPORE - Jasmin Eyple, 33, hatched a plan for he and his friends to pose as Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers to steal contraband cigarettes from peddlers.

Except his plan went up in smoke big time.

A group of people, armed with metal poles and wooden planks, attacked Jasmin and his friends. Somebody who noticed the commotion called the police and on Wednesday (Jan 18), Jasmin was jailed for five weeks after pleading guilty to pretending to be a public servant. One count of attempted theft was taken into consideration during sentencing.

The cases involving five of his alleged accomplices are still pending.

On Aug 18, last year, Jasmin suggested to his friends that they go to the Sungei Kadut area to steal contraband cigarettes.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Li Yihong said: "He told the group that if he shouted 'ICA' while the peddlers were in the midst of their dealings, they would flee and leave the contraband cigarettes behind."

His friends allegedly agreed.

At around 11.10pm that day, the group drove to a carpark near Block 2B Woodlands Road.

When one of them approached the sellers and asked to buy four cartons of cigarettes, Jasmin flashed his EZ-Link card and shouted: "ICA."

When the peddlers heard this, they grabbed their wares, climbed over a fence and ran into a nearby forested area.

But a group of unknown people, armed with metal poles and wooden planks, soon attacked Jasmin's group.

Jasmin and his friends fled the scene but a passer-by who had witnessed the commotion alerted the police.

For pretending to be an ICA officer, he could have been jailed up to two years and fined.

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