18 men nabbed on 3 tugboats for allegedly misappropriating marine gas oil to sell for 'personal financial gain'
Eighteen boat crew members, aged between 21 and 45, were arrested for their suspected involvement in an illegal transaction of marine gas oil.
Police Coast Guard officers arrested the men from two foreign-registered tugboats and one Singapore-registered tugboat in the sea off Pandan, Singapore, on Feb 11 at about 12.45am.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the crew members allegedly misappropriated the oil, valued at about $13,670, without their company's knowledge.
"The oil was allegedly intended to be sold illegally for their personal financial gain," said the police.
The 18 men will be charged in court on Feb 12 with criminal breach of trust by employees, which carries a jail term of up to 15 years and a fine.
The police said they take a serious view of illegal transactions of marine gas oil in Singapore waters, adding: "The authorities will continue to conduct enforcement and security checks to prevent, deter and detect such illicit activities".
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