Repeat offender jailed after being caught with 1,050 etomidate-laced pods worth $73,500

Published Sep 03, 2026, 07:54 PM

Updated Sep 03, 2026, 07:54 PM

Ji Saow Hua was jailed for 15 weeks after being caught with 1,050 etomidate-laced e-cigarette pods worth $73,500.

The repeat offender was earlier fined $4,000 in 2024 for importing e-cigarette devices but re-offended the following year.

For his latest offence, he was caught at the Woodlands Checkpoint in July 2025.

SINGAPORE – A man was caught with 1,050 etomidate-laced e-cigarette pods worth $73,500 at the Woodlands Checkpoint, less than a year after he was fined for bringing e-cigarette devices into Singapore.

Ji Saow Hua, a 42-year-old Malaysian, was sentenced to 15 weeks’ jail on Sept 3 after he pleaded guilty to importing the pods.

He had an undisclosed full-time job in Singapore at the time of the offence.

Both his offences were linked to a person named Louis Lee, although in different ways.

Court documents stated that in his first offence, Ji had helped Lee deliver e-cigarette devices on June 26 , 2024. He rode a motorcycle to import 107 sets of the devices and 14 e-cigarette pods through the Woodlands Checkpoint.

He was caught and fined $4,000 later that year.

Health Sciences Authority prosecutor Jolene Chua told the court that to settle the fine, Ji borrowed RM15,000 (S$4,720) from an unlicensed moneylender in Malaysia.

Facing financial woes in January 2025, Ji reached out to Lee , who introduced him to another person called Louis Wong.

Wong then offered him a job to smuggle items such as e-cigarette devices into Singapore.

Ji hesitated but accepted the job in late June 2025 due to increased financial pressure, said the prosecutor.

On July 3, 2025, he received instructions from Wong to collect seven packages containing items such as e-cigarette devices from a staircase landing at a shophouse in Taman Pelangi, Johor.

As part of the plan, Ji had to smuggle the packages into Singapore before his work shift the next day.

He had to deliver the items to Yishun after his shift ended at 9 pm that day.

Ji would receive details about the exact location after his shift ended, the court heard.

He was promised $300 for successful delivery. Court documents did not disclose what happened next.

The following day , Ji was riding his motorcycle through the Woodlands Checkpoint at around 7.45am when an auxiliary police officer stopped him for a routine check.

The officer found multiple packages wrapped in black plastic in the rear carriage box of the motorcycle. They contained the 1,050 e-cigarette pods.

Ji was charged in court in 2026.

Shaffiq Alkhatib is The Straits Times’ court correspondent, covering mainly criminal cases heard at the State Courts.

发布于 2026 年 9 月 3 日 晚上 7:54

更新于2026年9月3日晚上7:54

季绍华因持有价值 73,500 美元的 1,050 个掺有依托咪酯的电子烟烟弹而被抓获，并被判入狱 15 周。

该惯犯曾于 2024 年因进口电子烟设备被罚款 4000 美元，但第二年再次犯案。

他最近一次犯罪是在 2025 年 7 月于兀兰关卡被抓获。

新加坡——一名男子在兀兰关卡被查获，身上携带 1050 个含有依托咪酯的电子烟烟弹，价值 73500 新元。而就在不到一年前，他因携带电子烟设备进入新加坡而被罚款。

42岁的马来西亚人季绍华（音译）于9月3日被判处15周监禁，此前他承认进口了这些烟弹。

案发时，他在新加坡有一份未公开的全职工作。

他的两起犯罪行为都与一个名叫路易斯·李的人有关，尽管方式不同。

法庭文件显示，Ji 的初犯是于 2024 年 6 月 26 日帮助 Lee 运送电子烟设备。他骑摩托车通过兀兰关卡进口了 107 套电子烟设备和 14 个电子烟烟弹。

同年晚些时候，他被抓获并被罚款 4000 美元。

卫生科学局检察官蔡若琳告诉法庭，为了支付罚款，季某向马来西亚的一名无牌放贷人借了 15,000 令吉（4,720 新元）。

2025 年 1 月，Ji 面临财务困境，他联系了 Lee，Lee 又把他介绍给了另一个名叫 Louis Wong 的人。

黄某随后给他提供了一份工作，让他走私电子烟等物品到新加坡。

检察官表示，季某因经济压力增大，犹豫片刻后于2025年6月下旬接受了这份工作。

2025年7月3日，他接到黄某的指示，前往柔佛州彩虹花园的一间店屋的楼梯平台，取走七个包裹，包裹内装有电子烟设备等物品。

按照计划，季某必须在第二天上班前将包裹偷运到新加坡。

那天晚上9点下班后，他必须把这些东西送到义顺。

法庭获悉，季某下班后会收到有关具体地点的详细信息。

他被承诺成功交付后可获得300美元报酬。法庭文件没有披露之后发生了什么。

第二天早上 7 点 45 分左右，季骑着摩托车经过兀兰关卡时，被一名辅警拦下进行例行检查。

警官在摩托车后车厢内发现了多个用黑色塑料包裹的包裹，里面装有1050个电子烟烟弹。

季某于2026年被法院起诉。

沙菲克·阿尔哈提卜是《海峡时报》的法庭记者，主要报道国家法院审理的刑事案件。