13 Former Enforcement Officers Charged for Alleged Offences Involving Duty-unpaid Cigarettes and e-Vaporiser Products

a) Muhammad Fitri Bin Jaffar (“Fitri”) (38-year-old male Singaporean);

b) Muhammad Syafiq Bin Tahar (“Syafiq”) (39-year-old male Singaporean);

c) Mohamad Aidil Bin Abu Bakar (“Aidil”) (47-year-old male Singaporean);

d) Muhamad Hazim Bin Mohamed Jalil (“Hazim”) (33-year-old male Singaporean);

e) Sufian Bin Mohamed (“Sufian”) (45-year-old male Singaporean);

f) Muhammad Faddley Bin Abdul Wahid (“Faddley”) (38-year-old male Singaporean);

g) Chan Wei Ying, Olivia (“Chan”) (陈薇嫣, 39-year-old female Singaporean);

h) Mohamed Fiaros Bin Mohamed Zakaria (“Fiaros”) (43-year-old male Singaporean);

i) Muhammad Haziq Bin Khamzah (“Haziq”) (31-year-old male Singaporean);

j) Muhammad Khairul Izzul Shah Bin Abdul Karim (“Khairul”) (38-year-old male Singaporean);

k) Nurazmy Bin Yusoff (“Nurazmy”) (33-year-old male Singaporean);

l) Reggie Choo Beng Kwang (“Choo”) (朱民光, 32-year-old male Singaporean); and

m) Tan Wee Keong (“Tan”) (陈维强, 38-year-old male Singaporean).

2      Sometime between 2019 and 2022, on separate occasions, Fitri, Syafiq, Aidil, Hazim, Faddley, Chan, Fiaros and Haziq allegedly misappropriated properties that were entrusted to them in their capacity as Enforcement Officers. These properties comprised cartons and loose packets of duty-unpaid cigarettes, e-vaporisers, multiple cartons of e-vaporiser pods as well as other prohibited tobacco products valued at about S$18,327 in total. In addition, Fitri, Syafiq, Aidil, Hazim and Haziq allegedly conspired with each other on separate occasions to misappropriate these properties.

3      Sometime between 2021 and 2022, on separate occasions, Fitri, Syafiq, Aidil, Hazim, Sufian, Faddley, Fiaros, Haziq, Khairul and Nurazmy allegedly received stolen properties from one another and other individuals. These stolen properties comprised sticks, loose packets and cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes and e-vaporiser pods valued at about S$1,438 in total.

4      Sometime in 2022, on separate occasions, Faddley, Fiaros, Choo and Tan allegedly obstructed the course of justice in relation to the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau’s (CPIB) investigation:

i) Faddley allegedly disposed of e-vaporisers, e-vaporiser pods and duty-unpaid cigarettes into the rubbish chute of a Housing and Development Board (HDB) unit before opening the door to CPIB officers;

ii) Fiaros allegedly deleted a note in his phone containing records of 45 e-vaporiser pods that he had misappropriated during his course of work, after learning from Sufian that he was with CPIB officers;

iii) Tan allegedly revealed information about CPIB’s investigation to Choo who subsequently disposed of at least one e-vaporiser and three packs of e-vaporiser pods that he possessed after Tan advised him to do so; and

iv) Choo allegedly deleted his WhatsApp conversation with Tan in relation to CPIB’s investigation.

5      Sometime in 2022, Faddley, Syafiq, Hazim and Aidil were found to be in possession of e-vaporisers and related components when they were caught by CPIB. These items, used for their personal consumption, were allegedly part of case seizures related to their course of work.

6      Fitri, Syafiq, Aidil and Faddley, in the course of their duties, were required to conduct disposal of duty-unpaid cigarettes and e-vaporisers from the HSA disposal bins located at various checkpoints. They had allegedly taken the cigarettes, which did not comply with the standardised packaging  requirement, intended for disposal and retained them for personal consumption. The cigarettes were found in their respective residences.

7      For their alleged offences above, the 13 individuals face the following charges:

a) Muhammad Fitri Bin Jaffar

i) Four charges under Section 409 read with Section 109 of the Penal Code; 

ii) Three charges under Section 411(1) of the Penal Code, of which one is amalgamated under Section 124(2) of the Criminal Procedure Code (“CPC”); and

iii) Two charges under Section 128I(1)(a)(ii) of the Customs Act.

 

b) Muhammad Syafiq Bin Tahar

i) 10 charges under Section 409 of the Penal Code, of which seven are read with Section 109 of the Penal Code and three are amalgamated under Section 124(2) of the CPC; 

ii) One charge under Section 411(1) of the Penal Code;

iii) Two charges under Section 128I(1)(a)(ii) of the Customs Act; and

iv) Two charges under Section 16(3) (a) of the Tobacco (Control of Advertisements and Sale) Act 1993.

c) Mohamad Aidil Bin Abu Bakar

i) Eight charges under Section 409 of the Penal Code, of which six are read with Section 109 of the Penal Code, and two of those six charges are amalgamated under Section 124(2) of the CPC;

ii) Two charges under Section 411(1) of the Penal Code;

iii) Two charges under Section 128I(1)(a)(ii) of the Customs Act; and

iv) Two charges under Section 16(3) (a) of the Tobacco (Control of Advertisements and Sale) Act 1993.

d) Muhamad Hazim Bin Mohamed Jalil

i) Two charges under Section 409 read with Section 109 of the Penal Code;

ii) One charge under Section 411(1) of the Penal Code amalgamated under Section 124(2) of the CPC; and

iii) One charge under Section 16(3) (a) of the Tobacco (Control of Advertisements and Sale) Act 1993.

e) Sufian Bin Mohamed

i) Six charges under Section 411(1) of the Penal Code, of which three are amalgamated under Section 124(2) of the CPC.

f) Muhammad Faddley Bin Abdul Wahid

i) Two charges under Section 409 of the Penal Code;

ii) Two charges under Section 411(1) of the Penal Code, both amalgamated under Section 124(2) of the CPC; 

iii) One charge under Section 204A(b) of the Penal Code;

iv) Two charges under Section 128I(1)(a)(ii) of the Customs Act; and

v) Two charges under Section 16(3) (a) of the Tobacco (Control of Advertisements and Sale) Act 1993.

g) Chan Wei Ying, Olivia

i) Two charges under Section 409 of the Penal Code.

h) Mohamed Fiaros Bin Mohamed Zakaria

i) Three charges under Section 409 of the Penal Code;

ii) One charge under 411(1) of the Penal Code; and

iii) One charge under Section 204A(b) of the Penal Code.

i) Muhammad Haziq Bin Khamzah

i) One charge under Section 409 read with Section 109 of the Penal Code; and

ii) One charge under Section 411(1) of the Penal Code amalgamated under Section 124(2) of the CPC.

j) Muhammad Khairul Izzul Shah Bin Abdul Karim

i) One charge under Section 411(1) of the Penal Code.

k) Nurazmy Bin Yusoff

i) Two charges under Section 411(1) of the Penal Code, of which one is amalgamated under Section 124(2) of the CPC.

l) Reggie Choo Beng Kwang

i) Two charges under Section 204A(b) of the Penal Code.

m) Tan Wee Keong

i) One charge under Section 204A(b) of the Penal Code.

8      Any person who is convicted of an offence under Section 409 of the Penal Code shall be punished with imprisonment of up to 20 years, and shall also be liable to fine. Any person who is convicted of an offence under Section 411 of the Penal Code shall be sentenced to an imprisonment of up to five years, or a fine, or to both. Any person who is convicted of an offence under Section 204A of the Penal Code can be fined or sentenced to imprisonment of up to seven years or to both.

9      Under Section 16(3) (a) of the Tobacco (Control of Advertisements and Sale) Act, the possession, use or purchase of e-vaporisers carries a maximum fine of S$2,000.

10      Under the Customs Act and the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Act, buying, selling, conveying, delivering, storing, keeping, possessing or dealing in duty-unpaid cigarettes are serious offences. Offenders can be fined up to 40 times the amount of duty and GST evaded and/or jailed for up to six years.

11      CPIB looks into all corruption-related complaints and reports, including anonymous ones, and can be reached via the following channels: 

 

b) Email us at report@cpib.gov.sg;

c) Call the Duty Officer at 1800-376-0000; or

d) Write to us at the CPIB Headquarters @ 2 Lengkok Bahru, S159047.

12      Where possible, the report should include the following information:

a) Where, when and how did the alleged corrupt act happen? 

b) Who was involved and what were their roles? 

c) What was the bribe given and the favour shown? 

13      Under the law, the identity of the person making the report will be kept confidential, except when the Court finds that the person has made a false statement in his corruption complaint. Complainants may also choose not to reveal their personal details when lodging a corruption complaint.