Alleged Malaysian Vape Kingpin Held In S Pore Remand For Nearly 1 Year

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Singaporean authorities say Chua Wee Ming was a syndicate figure orchestrating large-scale vaping operations in the city-state.
Alleged vape kingpin Chua Wee Ming (not in pic) faces multiple charges, including that of cheating and attempting to obstruct the course of justice since 2022. (Bernama pic)PETALING JAYA: A Malaysian alleged to have facilitated the importation and distribution of vapes from Malaysia into Singapore has been held in remand in the city-state for almost a year
Singaporean authorities identified Chua Wee Ming, 34, as a syndicate figure orchestrating large-scale vaping operations in the country, reported The Straits Times.
He was nabbed after an islandwide operation last October and faces multiple charges, including that of cheating and attempting to obstruct the course of justice since 2022.
Chua first came under scrutiny after a commercial unit in Sembawang was burgled. Lim Zhi Wei, the man responsible for the warehouse, initially claimed IT gadgets were stolen.
However, investigations later revealed that S$470,000 worth of vape products were carted off. Lim later admitted to packing, delivering, and selling the products, and was fined S$8,500.
During the investigation, Lim stated that he had carried out these activities for a Malaysian he knew as “Jason”, receiving S$2,000 to S$3,000 in total.
Court documents allege that Chua, together with another man, broke into the warehouse in May 2022 to steal vape products.
A Singaporean who agreed to help Chua transport vape products from Johor Bahru to Singapore was caught at the Woodlands checkpoint in September 2022.
According to court documents, Chua then told the man that he had to rent a warehouse unit under his name as he had not managed to smuggle the vapes into Singapore successfully.
A raid on the warehouse in April 2024 saw authorities seize over S$5.2 million worth of vape products.
Chua was also linked to a March 2024 attempt to steal S$6.5 million worth of seized vapes from Singapore’s health sciences authority (HSA) warehouse.
The warehouse in question was overseen by one Michael Anthony Pillay, who was carrying out enforcement duties for HSA as a chief enforcement supervisor of WSH Experts.
Pillay has been charged with attempting to obtain bribes from Chua after he reportedly offered to provide him with information on HSA raids on multiple occasions in exchange for S$8,000.
The scheme involved bribery attempts and surveillance by another Malaysian, Chee Wai Yuen, who fled to Malaysia before being extradited back to Singapore in October 2024.
Other accomplices in Chua’s alleged operations have been jailed for obstruction-related offences. Chua’s case is scheduled for a pre-trial conference on Sept 25. - FMT

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