Singapore customs arrested more than 25 smokers with contraband cigarettes in the central business district last week. On Tuesday, the authorities said in a Facebook post that the smokers were issued composition sums.
According to the agency, its plain clothes officers conducted an enforcement operation at the Central Business District on Apr 6.
The operations are conducted island-wide to "suppress the demand for duty-unpaid cigarettes".
For a first-time offender who has up to one packet of duty unpaid cigarettes in his possession, the composition sum is S$500. However, if the offender is found with more than one packet or if he is a repeat offender, he can be sentenced to heavier penalties.
Singapore has zero tolerance towards such acts and any corrupt practices will be met with strict legal actions which includes a minimum of six years jail and a fine worth 40 times the amount of duty and GST evaded.
Singapore authorities continue to conduct security checks on passengers and vehicles at the checkpoints to prevent attempts to smuggle in undesirable persons, drugs, weapons, explosives and other contrabands. The same methods of concealment used by contraband smugglers may be used by terrorists to smuggle arms and explosives to carry out attacks in Singapore.
