Coast Guard intercepts and seizes foreign tugboat in waters off Tuas, arrests 8 for illegal fuel transaction
Eight crew members, aged between 24 and 61, from two tugboats were arrested by the Police Coast Guard on Oct 10.
While conducting a routine check on a Singapore-registered tugboat in the waters off Tuas, officers had discovered several crew members were allegedly involved in the illegal transaction of marine gas oil.
Acting on this information, the Police Coast Guard officers located and intercepted a foreign-registered tugboat in the vicinity.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the crew members of the Singapore tugboat were believed to have misappropriated the fuel without their company's knowledge by selling it to the crew members of the foreign tugboat.
The misappropriated marine gas oil was valued at $6,917.
Three crew members from the Singapore tugboat were arrested along with five crew members from the foreign tugboat, which was seized.
Ninety-two sticks of duty-unpaid cigarettes were also found in the possession of the Singapore tugboat crew, and were seized and referred to the Singapore Customs.
The eight men were expected to be charged on Oct 11.
The three Singapore tugboat crew members were to be charged with criminal breach of trust by employees while the five other men were to be charged with dishonestly receiving stolen property.
The offence of criminal breach of trust by employees is punishable with an imprisonment term up to 15 years and a fine.
Dishonestly receiving stolen property carries an imprisonment term up to five years, a fine or both.
