M'sian woman, 63, found with 105 bootleg alcohol bottles & 2 distillery machines in Woodlands home

A 63-year-old female Malaysian was arrested for delivering duty-unpaid liquor near the rubbish chute of HDB block in the vicinity of Jurong West.

Bootleg alcohol found in Woodlands residence

A follow-up search officers at her residence in Woodlands then led to the discovery of more duty-unpaid liquor manufactured from a home brewery setup within the unit, according to a press release by Singapore Customs on Oct. 11, 2024.

A total of 105 bottles of home-brewed liquor and two distillery machines used to brew the alcohol were seized.

Of the 105 bottles, 73 were five-litre bottles while the remaining 32 were estimated to be 500ml.

The woman was one of four people who had been arrested by Singapore Customs for allegedly selling duty unpaid liquor, during enforcement operations that were carried out on Oct. 8.

Two other male Chinese nationals and another male Singaporean were also arrested.

What did the other three people do?

The Singaporean, aged 45, was arrested for storing duty-unpaid liquor at his residence in Loyang.

A total of 19 bottles of alcohol (samsoo, also known as baijiu) were seized.

This included 18 bottles containing 500ml each, and one bottle holding an estimated 250ml of liquor. The liquor was allegedly intended for sale.

As for one of the Chinese nationals, aged 42, he was arrested for delivering duty-unpaid liquor at the loading/unloading bay of a Housing Development Board (HDB) block in the vicinity of Jurong West.

A total of 129 bottles containing two litres of duty unpaid baijiu each, with an alcohol content of 56 per cent, were found in the back as well as under the front passenger seat of a truck used for the delivery.

All of the alcohol and the truck were seized.

The other Chinese national, aged 47, was arrested for delivering two bottles of duty-unpaid baijiu at the lift lobby of a HDB block in the vicinity of Jurong West.

Officers conducted a follow-up search at his residence in Macpherson and seized two additional bottles of duty-unpaid liquor.

In total, 257 bottles with a total estimated volume of 668.5 litres of duty-unpaid liquor, one truck and two distillery machines were seized during the operations.

The total estimated duty and GST allegedly evaded amounted to about S$35,932.

Top photo by Singapore Customs