Ex-Certis officer who took over $1k in bribes in cigarette smuggling case gets 17 months’ jail
Shaffiq Alkhatib
The Straits Times
April 22, 2026
A former Certis security officer who facilitated 26 cigarette smuggling operations and received $1,572 in bribes was sentenced to 17 months’ jail on April 22.
Muhammad Haaziq Karudin, 34, was also ordered to pay a penalty of $1,572, equivalent to the bribes he received.
He had pleaded guilty on April 14 to one count each of graft and sharing confidential information about his work schedule with another person – an offence under the Official Secrets Act.
Haaziq was the fifth person linked to the case to be dealt with in court.
Three other former Certis officers – Muhammad Khairul Amir Suhaimi, then 25; Sri Daniah Abdul Razak, then 26; and Mohamad Aziffi Selamat, then 32 – were dealt with in court earlier.
Muhammad Sukaimi Gasali, then 34 and a crane operator at the time of the offences, was sentenced in February to four years and seven months’ jail and a fine of $5,000.
In earlier proceedings, the court heard that the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) had contracted Certis to supply security officers to Jurong Port and Tuas Checkpoint.
The officers’ tasks included taking enforcement action against people attempting to smuggle contraband items into Singapore.
Haaziq, who was working at Jurong Port, was conducting routine checks in late 2020 when he got to know Sukaimi, and the pair became friends.
Around July 2022, Sukaimi approached Haaziq and told him that he intended to deal in contraband cigarettes. He told Haaziq to “close one eye” whenever he passed through Haaziq’s lane.
Haaziq later allowed Sukaimi to pass through his lane without conducting proper searches on his vehicle.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Mohamed Riasudeen had said: “After the first successful smuggling operation where the accused facilitated Sukaimi’s exit from the port with contraband cigarettes... Sukaimi rewarded the accused by transferring between $50 and $100 via PayNow.”
Between Aug 10 and Nov 25, 2022, Haaziq received bribes totalling $1,572 from Sukaimi over 26 occasions.
The court heard that an integral component of the corrupt arrangement involved Haaziq providing Sukaimi with confidential information about his deployment schedule.
“Whenever Sukaimi approached the accused’s lane, the latter would conduct a superficial check on Sukaimi’s vehicle, allowing Sukaimi to pass through,” said DPP Riasudeen.
The offences came to light when Sukaimi’s Malaysian driver, identified as Mohd Hafiz Kamarulzaman, drove a car from his home country to Singapore at around 4.30am on April 19, 2024.
ICA officers stopped the vehicle at Tuas Checkpoint for inspection and uncovered 22 cartons as well as 470 packets of contraband cigarettes.
Investigations revealed that Hafiz had communicated with Daniah through WhatsApp on a few earlier occasions when he was entering Singapore with contraband cigarettes.
These conversations helped him determine “safer times” to enter Singapore.
Without revealing details, the DPP said Haaziq was arrested on July 15 that year.
Court documents did not disclose if Hafiz has been charged or dealt with in court.
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