Man, 20, packs illegal vapes in Mandai warehouse to fund boxing athlete dream, gets arrested 

A 20-year-old man who was waiting to enlist for National Service (NS) and wanted to self-fund his training as a boxing athlete took on a part-time job.

However, this was no ordinary job, but one that involved packing illegal electronic vaporisers.

Tan Teck Jin, now 21, was clocking in for a shift at the warehouse in Mandai when he was arrested during a raid by authorities on Mar. 29, 2023.

As reported by CNA, authorities found over 130,000 sets of electronic cigarettes and more than 60,000 pieces of vape pods amounting to S$3.1 million—Singapore's largest vaporiser and e-cigarette seizure to date.

Tan pleaded guilty on Oct. 7 2024, to two charges of possessing imitation tobacco products and vaporisers for sale under the Tobacco (Control of Advertisements and Sale) Act.

He had been working as a packer for approximately four months at the time since he first started in December 2022.

Tan's role was a simple one: to pick the items listed in the delivery order sent via a Telegram account set up on an in-house laptop, and hand it over to a delivery driver known only as "Cat".

"Cat" would thereafter hand over the parcels to couriers, who would deliver them to customers, who would pay in cash.

Tan would thereafter receive his salary in cash.

Plea for probation

Tan's lawyers, Tang Shangwei and Warren Tian from WongPartnership, sought probation as the "most appropriate sentence" for him.

In his mitigation plea, they said Tan had worked part-time since he was 16 years old as he didn't want to burden his parents financially.

Over the years, he worked as a promoter, a chocolatier, a legitimate warehouse packer, and a baker.

He had dreams of becoming a boxing athlete but needed more money to fund his training.

At one point, a friend told him of an "opportunity" that offered rates of S$20 an hour just for "packing some products".

Tan's lawyers said that Tan was not told the details of the job, and he now realises that his thinking was "completely short-sighted".

However, Tan has acknowledged that "ignorance is not a defence", added his lawyers.

This being Tan's first offence, the investigations were a "wake-up call" for him to learn from his mistakes and "intends for it to be his very last", said Tan's lawyers.

Since the investigations began, Tan has started serving in the Singapore Police Force as a special constable with a "stellar service record," as attested by his course manager.

Tan's lawyers said that Tan has a "positive attitude towards improvement," which can be seen in his boxing training, which he does about five to six times every week.

Tan won a title in the Singapore Boxing Federation’s 2024 National Championship on Jan. 28, 2024.

Sentencing was adjourned to Nov. 5, 2024.

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Top photo from Health Sciences Authority