Cigarettes smuggled from RI

Cigarettes smuggled from RI

SINGAPORE (AFP): A Singapore court imposed a record fine of S$9.25 million (US$6.6 million) on a man who pleaded guilty to smuggling two tons of cigarettes from Indonesia, a report said yesterday.

Fong Weng Liong, 42, who was also jailed for two years, will have to serve an additional five years in jail if he cannot pay the fine, the Straits Times reported.

Fong, who is unemployed, smuggled eight consignments, totaling 10,100 cartons, this year before he was nabbed by undercover Customs officers, the court was told.

He had evaded paying duty and tax amounting to $245,329 on the smuggled cigarettes worth $434,300.