A 21-year-old man was arrested for suspected importation and possession of counterfeit bags, wallets and watches for the purpose of trade, Singapore Customs (SC) announced in a joint press release with Singapore Police Force (SPF) on Monday (15 October).
In the release, it was said that SC officers inspected two consignments at a warehouse at Woodlands Industrial Park and found bags suspected to be counterfeit on 4 and 5 October 2018. The authority then detained the items after the rights holders confirmed that the items were counterfeit.
Later on 11 October 2018, officers from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and SC conducted a joint operation at a logistics company located at Woodlands Industrial Park where more than 800 pieces of counterfeit bags were seized.
The man was arrested in a follow-up operation along Compassvale Street and more than 4,000 pieces of counterfeit bags, wallets and watches were seized from his residence.
According to the authority, the total street value of the goods seized is more than S$520,000.
Preliminary investigation revealed that man has been selling counterfeit bags on various online platforms and investigations are ongoing.
The authorities stressed that anyone found guilty of importing, possessing or distributing goods with falsely applied trade mark for the purpose of trade may be sentenced up to a maximum fine of $100,000, or an imprisonment term of up to five years, or both.
They noted that they take a serious view on intellectual property right (IPR) infringements and will not hesitate to take action against perpetrators who show blatant disregard for Singapore’s IPR laws.
