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Man, 23, jailed for staking out HSA warehouse's S$6 million vape stash, fleeing from car accident while out on bail
Stake out.
A 23-year-old man was sentenced to jail for obstructing justice after being caught staking out a Health and Sciences Authority (HSA) warehouse to steal e-vaporisers and their components.
Elvin Suriaganandhan was enlisted by his friend, Lim Zhi Wei, to climb down from a unit above the HSA warehouse, and the pair was conducting surveillance of the area on Mar. 26, 2024, before HSA officers caught them.
While out on bail on Apr. 9, 2024, Elvin got into a traffic accident where his car collided with the guard railings along Tampines Avenue 10.
After the collision, Elvin panicked and fled the scene.
According to CNA, Elvin was sentenced to six weeks and 10 days in jail and was banned from driving for 12 months.
Over S$6 million worth of vape and its components
In court documents seen by Mothership, Elvin was conducting surveillance of the HSA warehouse with his friend Lim after one Chua Wee Ming enlisted Lim.
Sometime before Mar. 25, 2024, Chua had imported some vapes and their components into Singapore, that was eventually seized by HSA.
The seized products were held in custody by HSA on the 9th floor of its warehouse.
No less than 189,010 vapes and 351,223 components were held in custody in the warehouse.
The street value of all the products in the warehouse amounted to no less than S$6,529,600.
These products were evidence of future prosecution of offences under the Tobacco (Control of Advertisements and Sale) Act 1993 by HSA, and loss of the products would have hampered the prosecution.
Chua then enlisted Lim to help climb down from a unit on the 10th floor to steal the vapes and components from the HSA warehouse in exchange for S$20,000.
Lim then asked Elvin to help him with the theft, which he agreed to.
Elvin was aware that HSA seized the products as part of investigations into Chua.
On Mar. 26, 2024, at around 3:30pm, Lim and Elvin went to the warehouse location to conduct surveillance.
The plan was for the two to stake out the area and collect information so they could execute the theft that same night.
The pair went to the 10th floor and saw that the unit above the HSA warehouse was occupied, so they went down to the 9th floor to conduct surveillance.
However, they saw a HSA officer and went back up to the 10th floor, where they were confronted and stopped by HSA officers.
Elvin was arrested on Mar. 26, 2024 and was released on bail on Mar. 28, 2024.
Hit-and-run
While out on bail, Elvin was driving his car on Apr. 9, 2024, towards Tampines Avenue 1.
However, he made a left turn onto Tampines Avenue 10 at a relatively high speed and lost control of the car.
This caused it to skid, move against traffic, cut across three lanes, and crash into the guard railings along Tampines Avenue 10.
The crash left his car damaged, as the front of his car was ripped off and the front-left side of the car was ripped off, crumpled and punctured.
After the crash, Elvin panicked and ran home, leaving the accident scene and his car behind.
A witness to the accident, who was driving his car along the same road, stopped his car by the side of the road to offer his assistance.
When he saw Elvin flee the scene, he called the police to report the incident.
Sought imprisonment
The prosecution sought a sentence of one month two weeks to two months' imprisonment for Elvin's case.
The prosecution argued that, given the high number of vapes and components involved, it was a "serious case".
However, there was a low degree of premeditation and sophistication, as Elvin did not prepare or use any equipment for the surveillance of the HSA warehouse.
For his road accident, the prosecution noted the extent of the damage to the guard railings, pointing out that Elvin had crashed into an entire segment of the guard railings and damaged the front of his car.
According to CNA, Elvin's lawyer argued that he was a young man and "had a bright future ahead of him".
His lawyer also said Elvin was taking care of his mother and had "multiple responsibilities".
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25-Aug 2025 Monday
9:24 PM (5 days ago)
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