Nine offenders were caught with duty-unpaid cigarettes and issued with composition sums ranging from $500 to $1,900 in two joint operations by the Singapore Customs and the Housing & Development Board (HDB) in Yishun and Sengkang on 6 and 11 December 2018 respectively.
In a Facebook post on Friday (14 December), Singapore Customs stated that another offender was caught with duty-unpaid liquor, noting that investigations are ongoing for this offender.
During the operations, the authorities discovered that some HDB units were also overcrowded.
Singapore Customs also asked for members of the public to stay vigilant to keep the neighbourhood free of duty-unpaid cigarette activities by contacting Singapore Customs if ever anyone comes across any such activities in the housing estate.
The composition sum for a first-time offender who has up to one packet of duty-unpaid cigarettes in his possession is $500. Heavier penalties will apply if he is found with more than one packet of duty-unpaid cigarettes and/or if he is a repeat offender.