13 ex-Certis officers charged with offences including possessing vapes, pocketing duty-unpaid cigarettes

The law caught up with 13 former Certis officers on Friday (Jan 30) after charges including misappropriating items entrusted to them, possession of e-vaporisers and receiving stolen properties were handed to them in court.

In a joint press release by the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB), Health Sciences Authority (HSA) and Singapore Customs on Friday, the agencies set out the alleged offences the former enforcement officers, all Singaporeans, are suspected to be involved in.

Several of the offences listed were carried out between 2019 and 2022.

The twelve men and one woman are:

Criminal breach of trust, possession of vapes, offences under the Customs Act

Fitri, Syafiq, Aidil, Hazim, Faddley, Chan, Fairos and Haziq are accused of misappropriating cartons and loose packets of duty-unpaid cigarettes, e-vaporisers, multiple cartons of vape pods and other prohibited tobacco products valued at $18,327.

The properties were entrusted to them in their capacity as enforcement officers, the authorities said, adding that the alleged offences took place sometime between 2019 and 2022.

In addition, Fitri, Syafiq, Aidil, Hazim and Haziq also allegedly conspired with each other on separate occasions to misappropriate these items. 

Syafiq, Adil, Hazim, and Faddley have also been charged with offences relating to possession of e-vaporisers and related components.

Authorities said the items, seized during their course of work as enforcement officers, were used for personal consumption. They were caught by CPIB sometime in 2022.

In the course of their duties, Syafiq, Aidil, Faddley, and Fitri were also required to dispose of duty-unpaid cigarettes and e-vaporisers collected from HSA's disposal bins located at various checkpoints.

They are accused of taking the cigarettes, which did not comply with standardised packaging requirement, for personal consumption. The cigarettes were found in their respective homes.

Stolen properties and obstruction of justice 

Ten of the 13 former enforcement officers charged — Fitri, Syafiq, Aidil, Hazim, Sufian, Faddley, Fiaros, Haziq, Khairul and Nurazmy — are also accused of having received stolen properties from one another and other individuals.

The stolen properties included sticks, loose packets and cartons of duty-unpaid cigarettes and e-vaporiser pods valued at about $1,438 in total.

Separately, Faddley, Fairos, Choo and Tan, are also alleged to have obstructed the course of justice during CPIB's investigation in 2022.

Faddley allegedly disposed of e-vaporisers, vape pods and duty-unpaid cigarettes into the rubbish chute of a HDB flat before opening the door to CPIB officers.

Fairos, upon learning that Sufian was with CPIB officers, is accused of deleting a note in his phone containing records of 45 e-vaporiser pods that he had misappropriated during his course of work.

Meanwhile, Tan allegedly revealed information about CPIB's investigations to Choo, who subsequently disposed of at least one e-vaporiser and three packets of e-vaporiser pods in his possession, after Tan advised him to do so.

Choo is accused of having deleted his WhatsApp conversation with Tan in relation to CPIB's investigation.

Those found guilty of criminal breach of trust may be jailed for up to 20 years and fined.

Any person who is convicted of dishonestly receiving or retaining property may be jailed for up to five years, fined, or both.

Obstruction of justice carries a penalty of up to seven years' imprisonment, a fine, or both.

Possession, use or purchase or e-vaporisers carries a fine of up to $2,000.

Buying, selling, conveying, possessing or dealing with duty-unpaid goods are serious offences under the Customs Act and the Goods and Services Tax Act. 

Offenders can be fined up to 40 times the amount of duty evaded, jailed for up to six years, or both. 

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editor@asiaone.com