Singapore: Indian-Origin Enforcement Officer Jailed for Pocketing Illegal Tobacco Products at Changi Airport

Singapore, December 24: An Indian-origin enforcement officer was sentenced to three months' jail and fined SGD 800 (nearly USD 592) for having pocketed illegal tobacco products from apprehended offenders at Singapore's Changi Airport.

Mohan Raj Akilan, 31, and a Malaysian national, pocketed SGD 1,417 (nearly USD 1,100) worth of illegal tobacco-related products that were voluntarily disposed of by incoming travellers at Changi Airport. Another charge was taken into consideration during the sentencing, The Straits Times newspaper reported on Thursday. Sniffer Dog Orio Detects Drugs in Baggage of Ugandan Woman, Helps Custom Official Arrest Drug Smuggler at Chennai Airport (Watch Video).

Deputy Public Prosecutor Tan Hsiao Tien said the Malaysian national Mohan was employed by Singapore's Certis Cisco Auxiliary Police Force as an enforcement officer between April 19, 2011, and Aug 8, 2022. He was deployed around May 2021 to the enforcement operation unit under the Tobacco Regulation Branch (TRB) of the Health Sciences Authority (HSA), which outsourced tobacco enforcement work to Certis.

One of the duties of officers in that branch is to collect prohibited tobacco-related products that were voluntarily disposed of by travellers entering Singapore via Changi Airport. They can dispose of these products without any repercussions by filling up a voluntary disposal receipt and an immigration officer will discard the item in a bin, which is locked. Chennai Customs Seize 400-Year-Old Nrityaganapathi Idol Being Exported From Kancheepuram.

Between June and July 2021, Mohan received SGD 1,417 worth of tobacco-related products, including 40 packs of e-vaporiser pods and seven e-vaporisers, from a fellow enforcement officer. For receiving stolen property, he could have been jailed for up to five years, fined, or both.