Let this be a lesson to all those thinking of sneaking undeclared cigarettes into the country: The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) will fine you and make you the butt of their jokes on social media.
That’s what happened to two would-be smugglers, nabbed at Woodlands checkpoint last Thursday night. The Singaporean men, aged 19 and 20, were searched when agents noticed oddly shaped bulges around their waistlines.
It was discovered that the curious protrusions under their shirts were actually duty-unpaid cigarettes tucked in the waistbands of their trousers. Turns out that each man had jammed two packs between their bellies and the top of their pants.
Agents fined them S$600 each, before making fools of them on the ICA’s official Facebook page.
One of the PR staff with a sense of humor headlined the post announcing the incident with a sassy jab:
“Looks like their efforts were ‘waisted’.”
Ouch! Need some aloe for that burn?
While we’ve always loved the punny side of the ICA, we feel a little sorry for the poor guys. First, they go through all that trouble to get their cheap smokes into the country only to get caught and fined an amount way more than the cost of four cigarette packs here. Then the ICA gets a laugh from the whole country at their expense.
Mercifully, the ICA did not reveal their young men’s identities, but hopefully going the extra mile to subtly shame them will deter them from pulling this kind of thing again.
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