Duty-unpaid cigarettes fall out of M'sian-registered car after hitting lamppost in CCK, driver flees

After mounting a kerb and colliding with a lamppost and road sign, packets of duty-unpaid cigarettes apparently fell out of the engine compartment of a Malaysian-registered car.

An eyewitness later saw the driver fleeing the scene.

Duty-unpaid cigarettes

According to Shin Min Daily News, the accident took place at around 9am on Jun. 26 at a junction in Choa Chu Kang, near Brickland Road.

One passer-by, Wang (transiteration), 37, told Shin Min that when she drove past the incident site, she saw the Malaysian-registered car mounted on the road divider.

The nearby road sign had also toppled as a result of the collision.

"It was probably a recent accident at the time as the police had not arrived. There were a number of duty-unpaid cigarettes under the car. The driver was nowhere to be seen. Not sure if he had fled," Wang said.

When Shin Min reached the scene, the police had already arrived and set up a cordon.

The front right wheel of the car was suspended in the air, while the front of the car was badly damaged

Parts of the car had also come loose.

Police officers were seen inspecting the undercarriage of the car.

It is believed that the illegal cigarettes fell due to the force of impact, Shin Min wrote.

Singapore Customs officers at the scene

At around 12pm, officers from Singapore Customs also arrived at the scene.

They opened up the hood of the engine compartment and discovered more duty-unpaid cigarettes.

They spent about two minutes retrieving over 10 bundles of illegal cigarettes and placing them in a box before taking them away.

The police were also observed placing evidence tags as they conducted their investigation.

A contractor who arrived at the site told Shin Min that he was informed by the Land Transport Authority to conduct checks on the road sign after the car had been towed away.

Driver appeared normal, but fled the scene

Another eyewitness, Zhou (transliteration), 60, said that he heard a loud crash at the time of the incident.

After the crash, Zhou said he saw a male driver, who looked to be about 30 to 40 years old, alighting from the car.

"He looked normal and did not appear to be swaying about," Zhou said.

"I thought he would call the police, but he ran away instead," he added.

Car believed to have self-skidded

Responding to Mothership's queries, a Singapore Police Force (SPF) spokesperson said that the police were alerted at 9am on jun. 26 to an accident involving a car which was believed to have self-skidded along KJE slip road into Brickland Road.

The driver of the car left the scene before the police arrived.

A 33-year-old male car driver was subsequently arrested for driving without a valid license.

Items believed to be duty-unpaid cigarettes were found in the car.

"Customs-related offences will be referred to Singapore Customs," the spokesperson said.

Police investigations are ongoing.