SINGAPORE – Facing financial woes, a lorry driver for a logistics company in Malaysia asked his superior for a loan and was told that he could deliver “illegal items” to Singapore in exchange for payment.
Jegathiswaran Nagalingam, 28, accepted the offer even though his superior, known only as “David”, refused to give him more information about the goods he would be transporting.
At around 5.30am on Feb 2, Jegathiswaran drove a lorry to the Tuas Checkpoint where following a vehicle search Singapore authorities uncovered around 37,000 illicit items including e-cigarette devices, worth nearly $277,000 in total.
On April 16, the Malaysian offender was sentenced to 22 weeks’ jail after he pleaded guilty to importing items including 14,700 e-cigarette pods.
Two other charges, including those involving “heatsticks” – tobacco products that are heated and not burnt – were considered during his sentencing.
Health Sciences Authority prosecutor Jolene Chia told the court that Jegathiswaran had earlier approached David and asked for a loan of RM5,000 (S$1,600).
She added: “David suggested that the accused assist in delivering illegal items into Singapore in exchange for payment. The illegal items would be concealed among the company’s legitimate delivery items.
“The accused did not know how much he would be paid for the job, only that he stood to be paid when he successfully delivered the items…This would be the first time the accused had knowingly imported something illegal into Singapore.”
Jegathiswaran accepted the offer and picked up a lorry from the company’s compound in Malaysia at or around 4am on Feb 2.
He did not check what was in the vehicle and was caught after officers from the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority inspected it later that morning.
On April 16, the prosecutor urged the court to sentence Jegathiswaran up to 22 weeks’ jail, stressing that his offences involved a large number of illicit items.
She also said that the quantity of such goods reflected the scale of the offences.
Jegathiswaran, who was not represented by a lawyer, told the court through a Tamil language interpreter that he was facing financial issues at the time and that he was his family’s sole breadwinner.
He also said that his father is visually impaired and his mother, who has difficulty walking, has to go for surgery for her knee.
Before handing down the sentence, District Judge Lim Tse Haw agreed with the prosecutor that the case involved a large number of illicit products.
He also said that there is a need to deter foreigners from smuggling such goods into Singapore.
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