HSA officers visit man's home over vape use, he calls them 'uninvited guests'

When two Health Sciences Authority (HSA) officers showed up at one man's door and asked to enter his home for an inspection, he refused to let them in. 

The man then posted a series of six videos of the encounter named "uninvited guests" on his TikTok account Rapperboya.

His first video, which was posted on Nov 15 and garnered over 2.1 million views, shows two plainclothes HSA officers at his door showing their IDs and asking to search his home for e-cigarettes and vaporisers.

However, the man insists he will not open the door unless he is shown a warrant.

In a second video, two police officers are seen accompanying the HSA officers as they return to the man's home.

After explaining the nature of their visit, which was shown in subsequent videos, the man agreed to co-operate with the investigation and let the officers into his flat.

Before entering his home, one of the officers asked the man: "Would you like to declare any vapes?"

To which he replied: "No."

Warrant not required: HSA

In response to AsiaOne's queries, an HSA spokesperson said on Thursday (Nov 28) that under the Tobacco (Advertisement and Sales Control) Act, HSA officers can enter premises without a warrant to inspect or seize items for enforcement purposes.

They are also allowed to ask for identification from those suspected of committing crimes such as possession or use of e-vaporisers.

Given the nature of the officers' job, they are not required to wear uniforms so as not to draw attention to themselves in carrying out their surveillance and enforcement activities, the spokesperson explained.

"All of HSA’s enforcement officers carry HSA authorised cards to identify themselves as authorised officers."

Vape use in man's TikTok videos

Addressing the incident in Rapperboya's TikTok videos, the HSA spokesperson said that the authorities were alerted to a man who appeared with an e-vaporiser in his TikTok videos.

HSA officers were deployed to conduct a check on his residence to ascertain facts of the case. 

"The suspect was initially not cooperative but eventually allowed HSA’s officers into his residence, after the police was called to assist."

Although the check on the man's home did not uncover any e-vaporisers, the man is assisting HSA in further investigations regarding his social media posts, the spokesperson added.

The authority said that it often receives reports of people vaping in public places and actively monitor various social media platforms to take action against e-cigarette users.

Under the Tobacco (Control of Advertisements and Sale) Act, possessing, using or purchasing e-cigarettes can result in a fine of up to $2,000.

"HSA takes a serious view of e-vaporiser offences and will continue to be vigilant and enforce the law against such offenders," said the spokesperson.

More cases of youth vaping

There has been a rise in the use of e-cigarettes and vaporisers in Singapore, especially among the youth.

A total of 3,840 people were caught possessing or using vapes between July 1 and Sept 30 — a 52 per cent increase from the previous quarter, said HSA and the Ministry of Health in October.

About 20 per cent of these cases involved students.

Overall, there were 743 cases of students caught vaping by schools and institutes of higher learning (IHLs), 591 cases caught during community enforcement patrols, 44 cases found through enforcement operations in the vicinity of IHLs, and 16 cases detected at checkpoints, added the authorities.

The authorities said they are working with the Health Promotion Board and the Education Ministry to ramp up efforts to tackle the vaping issue.

bhavya.rawat@asiaone.com

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