2 Men Fined Over $1m Each for Skirting Duties on Liquor Worth $250k

Two men schemed to avoid paying duties on alcohol they were selling by using bottles that had been marked for export.

- Andrew Wong

This is because goods and services tax (GST) and duties are suspended for items stored in licensed warehouses awaiting exportation, but have to be paid if the items are consumed locally.

Jake Lam, 59, director of a local alcohol retailer and warehouse operator, came up with the plan to hide bottles of liquor that were meant for export in his warehouse.

He instructed his warehouse manager, Teo Ee Meng, 50, to replace the liquor they had removed from two shipping containers with beer, before marking the contents for export.

The pair would then move the bottles of liquor they had taken from the shipping container to the retail shop to be sold locally.