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Alleged Malaysian kingpin of vape syndicate in Singapore held in remand here
Published Sep 14, 2025, 05:00 AMUpdated Sep 14, 2025, 05:43 AM
Chua Wee Ming was arrested after an islandwide operation in 2024. He is accused of having facilitated the importation and distribution of vapes from Malaysia into Singapore.
PHOTO: HEALTH SCIENCES AUTHORITY
Andrew Wong
SINGAPORE – An alleged key player in the e-vaporiser trade in Singapore, who got another man to rent a warehouse to store vapes, has been held in remand for almost a year.
Malaysian national Chua Wee Ming, who was arrested after an islandwide operation on Oct 10, 2024, is facing accusations that he was involved in a number of cases from as early as 2022.
The 34-year-old faces multiple charges, including that of cheating and attempting to obstruct the course of justice. He is said to have facilitated the importation and distribution of vapes from Malaysia into Singapore.
In a joint statement after his arrest, the police and the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) accused Chua of being a key syndicate figure who had orchestrated the importation and distribution of vapes from Malaysia into Singapore.
His name first emerged after a commercial unit in Sembawang was burgled, court documents obtained by The Straits Times showed.
Lim Zhi Wei, who was in charge of the warehouse, claimed information technology gadgets were taken from the unit. But the authorities learnt that the stolen items were actually $470,000 worth of vapes.
Lim eventually admitted to having packed, delivered and sold vapes in Singapore, and was fined $8,500.
During investigations, he revealed that he had carried out the activities over two months for a Malaysian national named “Jason”. He said he was paid between $2,000 and $3,000 in total.
Court documents showed that it was allegedly Chua, together with another man, who broke into the commercial unit on May 9, 2022, to steal the vape products.
Chua’s name came up again in 2023, when he allegedly used a Singaporean’s identity to rent a Woodlands warehouse to store vape products.
During investigations, the Singaporean man claimed he was introduced to Chua by another acquaintance, after he amassed a gambling debt of $80,000. The three men had met one another at a pub in Malaysia.
After the meeting, Chua said he would help the man pay off his debts. In return, the man agreed to help transport vapes into Singapore by concealing them in a vehicle.
Around September 2022, the man drove from Johor Bahru into Singapore with products allegedly belonging to Chua, but was caught at Woodlands Checkpoint
According to court documents, Chua contacted the man and told him that he had to rent a warehouse unit under his name as he had not managed to smuggle the vapes into Singapore successfully.
Chua is said to have arranged for the man to meet with a property agent around May 2023 to view a Woodlands warehouse unit.
The man signed a contract with the landlord of the warehouse two days later. He later admitted to the authorities that he knew Chua would be using the warehouse allegedly for his vaping operation in Singapore.
The business ran from the warehouse for 11 months until the authorities, acting on a tip-off, raided the unit in April 2024.
Officers found more than $5.2 million worth of vape products at the warehouse, along with two Thai nationals who were living there.
The two foreigners, who were overstayers, admitted that they had helped collect and prepare for delivery vape products sent to them by trucks. They said three other Thai nationals had worked with them.
Investigators learnt that the five men were recruited as packers through messaging platform Line.
Chua’s name popped up again when an audacious attempt in March 2024 was made to steal seized vape products worth more than $6.5 million from a warehouse used by the HSA.
The warehouse in question was overseen by one Michael Anthony Pillay, who was carrying out enforcement duties for HSA as a chief enforcement supervisor of WSH Experts.
Pillay, who is facing one charge for attempting to obtain bribes from Chua, had reportedly offered to provide the Malaysian with information on HSA raids on multiple occasions in exchange for $8,000.
The attempted theft allegedly involved another Malaysian national named Chee Wai Yuen. The 35-year-old’s role was to conduct surveillance on the warehouse.
On March 23, 2024, Chee drove to the warehouse to spy on the warehouse units, but was stopped by HSA officers.
He was arrested after drugs were found in his car. On March 28, Chee was charged in court and was released on court bail on April 4.
After he was released on court bail, prosecutors said Chua arranged for a lorry driver to smuggle Chee into Malaysia.
Chee successfully crossed the border into Malaysia and went on the run for six months, before he was arrested and extradited to Singapore in October 2024.
On July 7, Chee was sentenced to one year, one month and six weeks’ jail after pleading guilty to obstructing the course of justice and offences under the
Immigration Act and Misuse of Drugs Act.
Separately, Chua allegedly offered $20,000 to one Lim Zhi Wei, 40, to break into the warehouse he had asked Chee to conduct surveillance on.
Lim roped in another friend, 23-year-old Elvin Suriaganandhan, for the task. The pair were spotted by HSA officers and caught on March 26, 2024.
Lim was sentenced to two years, one month and six weeks’ jail and a fine of $2,400 on July 8, for performing an act that could obstruct the course of justice.
On Aug 25, Elvin was sentenced to six weeks and 10 days’ jail, for performing an act that could obstruct the course of justice – an offence linked to the vape-related items.
His sentence also included jail time for a traffic offence, for which he was disqualified from holding or obtaining all classes of driving licences for a period of a year following his release date.
Chua’s case has been fixed for a pre-trial conference on Sept 25.
