Man at Woodlands Checkpoint suspected of hiding items in his pants, flees before getting patted down
A 37-year-old man was charged in court on April 8 after he was caught allegedly trying to smuggle duty-unpaid cigarettes into Singapore at Woodlands Checkpoint.
Singaporean Abdul Rusydan Rosli had cleared arrival immigration at the bus hall of the checkpoint on April 7 at 6.36am, but a security screening officer suspected Rusydan was concealing items in his pants and directed him to go for further checks.
After placing his bags for X-ray screening, Rusydan was about to undergo a physical pat-down inspection when he fled the bus hall with his belongings, said a joint news release by Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) and the police.
ICA officers were alerted and intercepted Rusydan within the checkpoint premises. A search of Rusydan and his belongings uncovered five packs of duty-unpaid cigarettes.
He was arrested and referred to the police and Singapore Customs for further investigations. The cigarettes were seized and handed over to Singapore Customs.
Rusydan was charged with failing to comply with an authorised officer’s request for inspection, an offence that carries a fine up to $20,000, an imprisonment term up to two years or both.
He was also charged with evading customs duty as well as the goods and services tax (GST) for the cigarettes.
Under the Customs Act and the GST Act, anyone convicted of possessing duty-unpaid goods can be fined up to 40 times the amount of duty and GST evaded, jailed for up to six years or both
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