According to a report by Lianhe Zaobao, eight crew members suspected of illegally trading marine gas oil in Singaporean waters were caught red-handed by the Police Coast Guard and will be charged in court on Saturday (October 11). The Singapore Police Force stated in a press release in the early hours of Saturday that during a routine inspection of a Singapore-registered tugboat in the Tuas waters on Friday (10th), Police Coast Guard officers discovered that several crew members were suspected of illegally trading Marine Gas Oil. Following the clues, the police subsequently identified and intercepted a foreign-registered tugboat.
Preliminary investigations indicate that the crew members of the Singapore tugboat are accused of misappropriating and selling marine gas oil worth approximately S$6,917 (about RMB 38,000) to the crew of the foreign tugboat, committing criminal breach of trust without the company’s knowledge. The involved foreign tugboat has been seized. The police arrested three crew members from the Singapore tugboat and five crew members from the foreign tugboat. Their ages range from 24 to 61, and all are male. Furthermore, the police found 92 sticks of duty-unpaid cigarettes on the Singapore tugboat crew members. All cigarettes have been seized and handed over to the Singapore Customs for processing.
The eight crew members will be charged in court on Saturday. The three Singapore tugboat crew members face charges of criminal breach of trust as a servant, while the five foreign crew members face charges of receiving stolen property.
Under Section 408(1) of the Singapore Penal Code, if found guilty of criminal breach of trust by a clerk or servant, one may face imprisonment for up to 15 years and also be liable to a fine. Under Section 411(1) of the Penal Code, if found guilty of receiving stolen property, one may face imprisonment for up to five years, or a fine, or both. The Singapore Police Force emphasized that they take a serious view of illegal trading of marine gas oil within Singapore waters. The authorities will continue to conduct enforcement and security checks to prevent, deter, and detect such activities.
