<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>Military driver jailed for illegal cig racket
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>He bypassed security with assigned minibus </TR><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Carolyn Quek
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Ang Zi Heng, 22, was sentenced to 16 months in jail for smuggling contraband cigarettes for some members of the lndonesian navy in return for cartons of illegal smokes. He had driven a minibus loaded with the smokes past the Changi Naval Base checkpoint to a delivery point outside it. -- ST PHOTO: WONG KWAI CHOW
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->MILITARY driver Ang Zi Heng thought he had the 'perfect cover' for an illicit operation smuggling contraband cigarettes out of the Changi Naval Base last August.
Over several trips on one evening, the full-time national serviceman drove a military minibus loaded with the cigarettes past the checkpoint in the base to a delivery point outside it.
Yesterday, Ang, 22, was sentenced in a district court to 16 months in jail for accepting cartons of illegal smokes in return for helping some members of the Indonesian navy in the smuggling.
He could have been jailed up to five years or fined up to $100,000.
Ang is the first of three military drivers who were charged with graft last week to be dealt with.
He faced one charge while the other two - Ee Jin Liang, 22 and Adrian Tan, 23 - face 10 and two charges respectively. The trio were all full-time national servicemen at the time of the offences last year and were attached to the Tuas Naval Base as military drivers. Ee's and Tan's cases are up for mention next week.
It was not revealed in court yesterday how Ang's cover was blown. Ang, who did not have a lawyer, was calm when the sentence was read out to him, but his family members appeared to be stunned by the length of it, letting out audible gasps after it was read out.
This is Ang's first conviction.
The court heard that members of the Indonesian navy had arrived at Changi Naval Base last August for a meeting.
Ang and Ee were assigned as their drivers, with Ang as the vehicle commander as well.
On the second night of their duty, one Indonesian officer told Ee that they needed to 'load something' and asked if it was safe. Ee understood him to mean if it was safe for them to take illegal cigarettes out of the camp. Ee said he did not know.
Subsequently, some members of the Indonesian Navy loaded cartons into the minibus assigned to their use. Ee and Ang were then directed to drive the minibus to a carpark outside the base, where the cartons were loaded onto lorries. They received 18 to 20 cartons of contraband cigarettes worth $756 in return. [email protected]
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>He bypassed security with assigned minibus </TR><!-- Author --><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Carolyn Quek
</TD></TR><!-- show image if available --><TR vAlign=bottom><TD width=330>
</TD><TD width=10>
Ang Zi Heng, 22, was sentenced to 16 months in jail for smuggling contraband cigarettes for some members of the lndonesian navy in return for cartons of illegal smokes. He had driven a minibus loaded with the smokes past the Changi Naval Base checkpoint to a delivery point outside it. -- ST PHOTO: WONG KWAI CHOW
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->MILITARY driver Ang Zi Heng thought he had the 'perfect cover' for an illicit operation smuggling contraband cigarettes out of the Changi Naval Base last August.
Over several trips on one evening, the full-time national serviceman drove a military minibus loaded with the cigarettes past the checkpoint in the base to a delivery point outside it.
Yesterday, Ang, 22, was sentenced in a district court to 16 months in jail for accepting cartons of illegal smokes in return for helping some members of the Indonesian navy in the smuggling.
He could have been jailed up to five years or fined up to $100,000.
Ang is the first of three military drivers who were charged with graft last week to be dealt with.
He faced one charge while the other two - Ee Jin Liang, 22 and Adrian Tan, 23 - face 10 and two charges respectively. The trio were all full-time national servicemen at the time of the offences last year and were attached to the Tuas Naval Base as military drivers. Ee's and Tan's cases are up for mention next week.
It was not revealed in court yesterday how Ang's cover was blown. Ang, who did not have a lawyer, was calm when the sentence was read out to him, but his family members appeared to be stunned by the length of it, letting out audible gasps after it was read out.
This is Ang's first conviction.
The court heard that members of the Indonesian navy had arrived at Changi Naval Base last August for a meeting.
Ang and Ee were assigned as their drivers, with Ang as the vehicle commander as well.
On the second night of their duty, one Indonesian officer told Ee that they needed to 'load something' and asked if it was safe. Ee understood him to mean if it was safe for them to take illegal cigarettes out of the camp. Ee said he did not know.
Subsequently, some members of the Indonesian Navy loaded cartons into the minibus assigned to their use. Ee and Ang were then directed to drive the minibus to a carpark outside the base, where the cartons were loaded onto lorries. They received 18 to 20 cartons of contraband cigarettes worth $756 in return. [email protected]
