Single father of three jailed and fined for running Telegram vape shop, making deliveries
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On Dec 1, Shaun Phua Ming Hui was sentenced to seven weeks’ jail and fined $16,000.
ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG
Follow topic:
- Single father Shaun Phua Ming Hui, 32, was jailed seven weeks and fined $16,000 after running a vape shop on Telegram.
- Introduced to vape delivery for $10 a parcel, Phua later managed two Telegram accounts selling vapes before being caught in a test buy.
- The prosecutor cited increasing vaping prevalence, advocating for harsher sentences; the judge warned Phua against re-involvement in such crimes.
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SINGAPORE – A single father of three children started delivering vapes twice a week after being introduced to the job by a friend.
After almost a year of doing this, he began earning extra income by running a vape shop on Telegram and taking orders from customers.
He was nabbed when he delivered vapes to a Health Sciences Authority (HSA) officer acting as a buyer in a test-buy operation.
On Dec 1, Shaun Phua Ming Hui, 32, was sentenced to seven weeks’ jail and fined $16,000. He will serve an additional 32 days’ jail if he is unable to pay the fine.
He had pleaded guilty to 10 vaping-related offences, with 35 other charges taken into consideration for his sentencing.
The court heard that Phua’s friend introduced him to a vape delivery job in April 2023.
He was promised $10 for each delivery, and was required to deliver 10 to 15 parcels each day, earning between $100 and $150 daily.
Phua was added to a Telegram group chat that assigned work schedules to drivers, and he delivered vapes twice a week.
In March 2024, he agreed to sell vapes and their components for extra income after being approached by someone in the business.
The person, who was unnamed in court documents, created the Telegram group accounts “Abigail vape shop” and “Ashley Tang” on Phua’s mobile phone.
Phua received orders through these two accounts and forwarded them to another group chat.
He also double-checked that the packers were preparing the correct orders, before waiting for the delivery route and schedule.
For running the two Telegram group accounts, Phua was paid an additional $50 a week – on top of his earnings from vape deliveries. He admitted to earning about $500 per month from this criminal operation.
On Sept 7, 2024, HSA officers conducted a test-buy operation at Guilin View, a condominium in Bukit Gombak, after receiving information about a Telegram group chat peddling vapes.
Phua arrived at the location in a vehicle with his girlfriend to deliver the vapes, and was arrested.
The authorities found vapes and pods in the vehicle, along with five vapes that Phua admitted were for his own use.
HSA prosecutor Vishnu Aditya Naidu said deterrence is the main sentencing consideration in this case.
The prosecutor added that with the increasing prevalence of vaping offences and the public disquiet surrounding them, harsher sentences are needed for such crimes.
Phua said in mitigation that he needed money to support his three children.
“This is my first offence, please be lenient with me,” he told Deputy Principal District Judge Kessler Soh.
Before handing down the sentence, the judge told Phua as he stood in the dock: “You have to make sure you don’t ever get involved in such things again.”
