41 weeks’ jail for M’sian man caught in warehouse with thousands of vapes

SINGAPORE: On Tuesday (Jan 6), a Malaysian man was given a 41-week jail sentence after pleading guilty to two counts of possessing vapes or related components for sale.

Twenty-one-year-old Chong Jun Keong was charged on Jul 14, 2025, with distributing about 2,915 kilos of vapes and components.

Health Sciences Authority (HSA) officers, having received information concerning vapes in warehouses in Bishan, saw Chong as he left a warehouse at 45 Jalan Pemimpin on Jul 11.

They apprehended him and entered the warehouse, where they saw thousands of vapes and components.

Vaping has been illegal in Singapore since February 2018, when buying, possessing, and using e-vaporisers were prohibited, in large part due to the country’s public health policies.

Last year, following an announcement from Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, Singapore’s laws tightened even further.

Chong’s story

The Malaysian national was working as a sales assistant in Johor Bahru at a store that sold phone accessories as well as vapes and their components, according to a report in CNA.

Last April, a customer named John, whom he had met in 2024, offered him a job as a vape packer in Singapore. Because the salary he was promised would be higher than what he was receiving, he said yes.

He started working in May 2025 at a warehouse in Jalan Pemimpin and was also given access to another warehouse in Ubi, although Chong continued to live in Malaysia. His work involved packing parcels of vapes, which delivery drivers would pick up.

When HSA officers entered the warehouse at 45 Jalan Pemimpin on Jul 11, they seized 17,955 vapes and 29,522 vape components. Because Chong had keys to the second warehouse, the officers were able to enter it and found 5,564 vapes and 13,412 vape components.

CNA reported that 35,000 vapes or vape components for the purpose of sale were found in Chong’s possession.

Tougher on vaping

Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said in his National Day Rally speech on Aug 17, 2025, that Singapore will begin treating vaping as a “drug issue” and that enforcement efforts would be enhanced.

The rising number of young people who use them has been a cause for concern, especially since some have been found to contain addictive or harmful substances. Some of the vape pods that officers from the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) have seized this year were found to contain etomidate, an anaesthetic which can cause addiction and physical dependence.

On Aug 24, Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said that from Sep 1, etomidate would be listed in the Misuse of Drugs Act. This means the substance is now listed as a Class C drug, making the traffic, manufacture, import, export, possession, and consumption of etomidate illegal. /TISG

Read also: People have been throwing away their vapes at the Causeway before entering SG from JB