Vape seller given increased jail term of 8 weeks after prosecution reviews sentencing position

A vape delivery driver caught collecting more than 1,500 vape devices was sentenced to eight weeks’ jail on Jan 7 – eight times the jail term initially sought by the prosecution.

Orison Toh Chun Kee, 29, pleaded guilty to one count of possessing vapes for sale and one charge of offering vapes for sale via the Telegram messaging app. Two other charges were taken into consideration during sentencing.

Toh was initially expected to plead guilty on Aug 25, 2025, but Health Sciences Authority (HSA) prosecutor Jolene Chia told the court that the authority intended to relook its sentencing submissions.

The prosecution had initially sought a week’s jail and a $1,500 fine for Toh, but later increased this to 12 weeks and a $3,000 fine, citing how District Judge Wong Li Tein had, in a separate case on Aug 21, 2025, asked HSA to relook their sentencing submissions for all vape offences.

Judge Wong said it was not feasible to rely on sentencing precedents from 2022 to 2024 for vaping-related cases, given public sentiment.

Court records showed that Toh, who was employed as an engineer at the time of the offences, began delivering vape parcels in February 2024 and earned about $10 per trip.

On Sept 2, 2025, HSA was alerted to a consignment containing vapes received by a company.

HSA officers went to the location the next day and saw Toh collecting the parcel.

When they searched his car, they found vapes and vape pods that were leftover deliveries from the day before.

A total of 1,639 vapes were found in Toh’s car.

Toh later said he had planned to start selling vapes but did not manage to do so.

Explaining the rationale for the increased recommended sentence, Ms Chia told the court that it was based on the increase in the number of vape offences and the government’s tougher stance towards vaping offences.

She also cited Prime Minister Lawrence Wong’s National Day Rally speech, where he announced that the government would treat vaping as a drug issue.

Toh’s lawyer, Mr Sameer Amir Melber, from Gabriel Law, asked for a fine, saying it was difficult to understand why the prosecution was increasing the sentence “by such a high amount”.

He added that Toh had intended to plead guilty in April 2025, and there was no evidence to show that he was part of a syndicate or that any etomidate-laced devices were linked to his conduct.

In sentencing, District Judge Terence Tay said Toh’s role was critical to such illicit operations, as he was the “interface” between the mastermind and customers.

He added that vaping is an increasing problem in Singapore that affects younger people.

As the detection of such activities is extremely difficult, the judge said a stiff sentence was warranted, but it had to take into account the sentencing range prescribed by the law.

For each charge of selling vapes, an offender can be fined up to $10,000, jailed for up to six months, or both.

Source: The Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction.

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