The price was too good to be true, but others were
buying them, so Mr Tan Kim Ching, 46, went ahead and bought a pack
of cigarettes for $5 from a peddler in a Geylang alley at about
10am last Sunday.
But the Malaysian, who works in a construction and
engineering firm, ended up paying a heftier price than he
expected.
"I saw other foreign workers buying the cigarettes, so
I gave them a try but, almost immediately, someone tapped me from
behind and asked me to hand the pack over," he told my paper last
week.
He was accosted by three men in plain clothes, who
claimed to be Singapore Customs officers.
Mr Tan said the men did not show him any
identification. Neither did he ask them for it.
Mr Tan was bundled into an unmarked car and was
driven for 30 minutes until they reached an apartment
block. He was interrogated at a unit there for about 15
minutes.
"I didn't know where I was taken as I am not familiar
with the roads here. But when I got to the living room of
that unit, there were about 10 other workers who seemed to be there
for the same reason," said Mr Tan, who has been working
here for less than a month.
He added that the "officers", who looked to be in their
20s, were well-dressed in longsleeved shirts, and carried
walkie-talkies.
They took his work permit and passport, and said that
he would have to pay a $5,000 "fine" to escape jail and get his
documents back.
The figure was eventually reduced to $1,500, and Mr Tan
was told to meet the men at Ang Mo Kio MRT station later that day,
at about 3pm.
He managed to get $1,200 from his boss and handed the
money to one of the men in exchange for his personal documents.
He was not issued an official receipt and the men left
on foot immediately after receiving the money.
When contacted, a spokesman for Singapore Customs said
it did not conduct any enforcement operations in Geylang that
day.
The spokesman said: "When approaching members of the
public, our officers will identify themselves as Singapore Customs
officers. They will also produce their warrant cards."
my paper understands that a summons slip is typically
issued to those caught with contraband cigarettes. Customs officers
do not collect money on the spot as the court decides the fine
amount.
Mr Tan said: "The money is already gone. I hope other
foreign workers will learn from my mistake, and not trust anyone
without seeing proper identification first."
http://news.asiaone.com/News/Latest%2BNews/Singapore/Story/A1Story20120402-337079.html
