Singapore threatens lashes and long jail sentences for vape importers

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Singapore is raising fines for vape users and threatening up to 20 years in prison and 15 lashes for importers of devices laced with banned substances as part of a crackdown on e-cigarettes.

The penalties, which will take effect from Monday, are aimed at tackling what public officials in the city-state called “significant health risks” associated with vaping.

“There are many people, especially the young, [who] picked up vaping thinking that it is all right and not as harmful as cigarettes, and then out of curiosity, out of coercion, or just out of ignorance, they wandered into substance abuse,” health minister Ong Ye Kung said on Thursday.

The new rules were especially focused on vapes with the sedative etomidate, known as K-pods, which officials said were on the rise.

Singapore’s justice system metes out harsh penalties for offences, including lengthy prison sentences, caning with a rattan stick and hanging for drug offences. The city-state is also known for its efforts to tackle lower-level social ills, such as banning imports of chewing gum, and imposing fines for littering and discarding cigarettes. 

Vaping has been illegal in Singapore since 2018. But police have stepped up enforcement this year, with border guards increasing checks at entry points, including at Changi airport.

Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said in his national day speech this week that the government was growing increasingly concerned about etomidate-laced vapes, especially among young users.

“We will treat this as a drug issue, and impose much stiffer penalties,” he said. “That means jail sentences and more severe punishments for those who sell vapes with harmful substances.”

Under the new measures, first-time fines for those caught in possession of e-cigarettes will rise from S$300 for under 18s and S$500 for adults (US$233 and US$389) to S$500 and S$700, respectively. Repeat offenders face three months of rehabilitation and fines up to S$2,000.

For a trial six-month period, penalties for importers and sellers of etomidate vapes will increase from a current maximum two-year prison sentence and S$10,000 fine.

Importers will now face between three and 20 years in jail, as well as five to 15 strokes of the cane, while vendors will face between two and 10 years behind bars and two to five strokes.

Public officials warned foreign residents and travellers to Singapore that they risked being expelled and losing their rights to stay in the country if they were repeatedly caught vaping. Schools and universities have also been ordered to take a zero-tolerance approach.

On Wednesday, the Philippines embassy in Singapore issued a warning to Filipino residents and visitors to the city-state over the crackdown.

Vapes, which have soared in popularity globally as an alternative to traditional cigarettes, are illegal in 34 countries, including Thailand, Laos, Brunei and Cambodia in south-east Asia. However, they are freely available in Singapore’s neighbours, Malaysia and Indonesia.

Hong Kong plans to ban vapes in April, with offenders facing six months in jail and HK$50,000 (US$6,400) fines.