Spy, stash, smuggle: Malaysian jailed after S$6.5m vape warehouse caper in Singapore and JB getaway
Channel News Asia reported that Chee Wai Yuen, 36, was sentenced today to one year, one month and six weeks' jail by a Singapore court after pleading guilty to five charges — including drug offences, obstructing justice, and an immigration offence for leaving the country without presenting his passport.
The Singapore court heard that Chee was recruited in March last year by fellow Malaysian Chua Wee Ming, who allegedly smuggled electronic vaporisers and components into the republic for sale.
Authorities had seized 189,010 e-vaporisers and 351,223 related components — with a street value of about S$6.5 million (RM22.6 million) — from a warehouse. The warehouse's location has been protected by a gag order.
Chua allegedly told Chee to check if the unit was guarded by Singapore's Health Sciences Authority (HSA) so they could steal the items back. Chee agreed and went to the warehouse on March 23 last year.
He climbed to the unit, but was soon approached by three HSA officers. He claimed he was at the wrong place and tried to leave, but was stopped after driving off. A search of his car uncovered ketamine and drug paraphernalia.
Chee was arrested, and urine tests later confirmed he had taken methamphetamine and norketamine.
He was charged and released on bail. But he contacted Chua, who had earlier promised to help him escape if caught.
On April 5, 2023, Chee followed WhatsApp instructions to meet a yellow lorry in Tuas. He hid behind the driver's seat and was driven across the Tuas Checkpoint by co-accused Thanesh Murugan.
Chee failed to turn up in court that month. A warrant was issued, and he remained on the run until his arrest in Malaysia and extradition in October 2023.
Prosecutors sought a sentence of up to one year, two months and eight weeks' jail, citing the scale of the vape stash.
But the court noted Chee's 'low degree of premeditation and sophistication', and said there was 'minimal effect on the course of justice' as the theft didn't happen.
Chua remains in custody and his case is pending.
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Miami Herald
11 hours ago
- Miami Herald
Haiti gangs' expansion, human-rights violations, threaten whole Caribbean, UN warns
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While the attack on Lascahobas may seem like just one more horrific blow in Haiti's ongoing gang warfare, it has raised alarms in and outside the country because of what it signals about the evolving gang threat: Criminal armed groups are no longer just consolidating power in Port-au-Prince, but are rapidly expanding north—a point underscored Friday in a new United Nations report. The report, which looks at the sharp rise in attacks, particularly in the Lower Artibonite and central regions, between October 2024 and June, warns that the expanding presence of armed groups outside of metropolitan Port-au-Prince threatens to destabilize not just Haiti, but the wider Caribbean region. 'The human rights violations and abuses that we have documented are further evidence of why Haiti and the international community urgently need to step up to end this violence,' U.N. Human Rights Spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani said from Geneva. There were 4,864 killings between October and June, at least 1,018 of them in the rice-growing Artibonite region, the Central Plateau and the towns of Ganthier and Fonds Parisien, east of the capital. The mass killings coincide with attacks carried out by the powerful Viv Ansanm gang coalition and its allies, including the Taliban gang located in Canaan, and 400 Mawozo operating in the Ganthier area, as well as the Gran Grif gang based in the Artibonite. Earlier this week, the U.N. Security Council announced that Gran Grif and Viv Ansanm had been added to its global sanctions list. The move followed a May decision by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio to label the group as Foreign Terrorist Organizations and Specially Designated Global Terrorists. The joint report was produced by the U.N. Integrated Office in Haiti and the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights. 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'If the government doesn't put its head together to push back the gangs they will head toward Belladère and then we will be at war, because the Dominicans will never accept this,' Joseph said of Haiti's contentious neighbor, which has been beefing up patrols on its side of the border. 'Belladère and Lascahobas are both border towns.' The U.N. report notes that the Belladère border post, located 62 miles from the capital has for several years been a transit zone for trafficking in arms, drugs and other contraband coming from or heading to the Dominican Republic. As a result, controlling the roads crossing the center region is strategically important for the gangs and their supporters in trafficking networks. William O'Neill, the U.N.'s independent human rights expert who raised concerns about the border after a recent visit to Haiti, said gangs that gain access to the important trading route leading to the Dominican Republic border could see their income rise. 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Yahoo
14 hours ago
- Yahoo
Former Metropolitan Police commissioner Lord Ian Blair has died, Sky News understands
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San Francisco Chronicle
2 days ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Exclusive: Trouble mounts for Costco optician who owns company in deadly fireworks blast
Before explosions rocked a fireworks company in Yolo County and killed seven workers, authorities launched an investigation into the head of the firm. They were looking into whether he illegally stored fireworks in Southern California and put dangerous display-grade devices in packaging indicating they were less powerful, or 'safe and sane,' a source familiar with the matter told the Chronicle. The investigations centered on former San Francisco resident Kenneth Chee, the 48-year-old owner and CEO of Devastating Pyrotechnics, whose operation in the farm town of Esparto was destroyed by fire on July 1, as the company prepared to put on Fourth of July displays in cities across Northern California. A series of blasts created a mushroom cloud visible from many miles away. The Chronicle granted anonymity to the source, who was not authorized to speak about the investigation, in accordance with the newspaper's policies on confidentiality. Further details on the Southern California case were not immediately available. The revelation that Chee, a San Ramon resident who has worked as an optician for Costco, was under investigation in Southern California comes after authorities raided a home where he once lived in San Francisco. On Tuesday, multiple law enforcement agencies searched the house on the 400 block of Second Avenue in the Inner Richmond neighborhood, which is owned by a relative of Chee who has been a manager at Devastating Pyrotechnics. Records show that Chee built his business over many years, putting on Fourth of July and New Year's displays in numerous cities and becoming a well-known figure in his industry, even though federal regulators barred him from acquiring or possessing fireworks. It's not clear why Chee was denied a crucial license by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. But as a 20-year-old man in September 1997, he was arrested for shooting a 14-year-old boy in a dispute in San Francisco, the Chronicle reported at the time. The next year, he was sentenced to five years in prison after being convicted of assault with a firearm. Under ATF regulations, anyone who has been convicted of a crime punishable by more than a year in prison cannot obtain a federal explosives license. Two years ago, federal authorities approved a license for another man, Gary Chan Jr. of San Francisco — who is also associated with the Second Avenue home and appears to be Chee's half-brother — to operate Devastating Pyrotechnics, documents show. The Chronicle's efforts to reach Chan have been unsuccessful, and an attorney for Chee and Devastating Pyrotechnics has declined to respond to questions. Despite his federal denial, Chee successfully obtained three fireworks licenses in his own name from the Office of the State Fire Marshal in California to import and export materials, sell fireworks and launch public displays, all on behalf of Devastating Pyrotechnics. As the state fire marshal leads the investigation of the Yolo County blast, a central question is how — and where — Devastating Pyrotechnics was handling fireworks on the Esparto property. The site, 35 miles northwest of Sacramento, was zoned by the county for agriculture, and KCRA-TV reported it was owned by Sam Machado, a lieutenant with the Yolo County Sheriff's Office. The Chronicle reported that the ATF's license approvals for Gary Chan Jr. allowed the company to store display-grade fireworks, but only in seven metal storage containers. Those containers were situated along an agricultural field on the northern edge of the property, according to maps reviewed by the Chronicle. The nearest container was about a third of a mile away from the buildings that blew up on July 1, and the company was not permitted to hold the display fireworks in the buildings on the main part of the property. The fact that Chee was denied by federal regulators and approved by state officials highlights the differing and less stringent requirements in California for fireworks operators. The state only requires that a licensee not have a felony conviction 'involving explosives or dangerous fireworks' or a conviction as a principal or accessory 'in a crime against property involving arson or any other fire-related offense.' One industry expert familiar with Chee, who asked to remain anonymous to avoid business repercussions, said the state needs to sync its regulations with the feds to avoid this type of situation. 'The two agencies are not on the same page,' this person said. 'To get federal licensing at Devastating Pyrotechnics, (Chee) had to use someone else's name with a clean past. Federally, Kenny can't be anywhere near fireworks.' Chee had been let go from another fireworks company because he did not meet federal eligibility requirements, the expert said. 'Kenny is a very competent, capable pyrotechnician,' he said. 'But he doesn't meet the legal requirements.' Still, Chee was able to grow his company without federal licensing after securing key contracts and building lasting relationships, including one with the Chinese Chamber of Commerce. For years, Devastating Pyrotechnics has run displays at the chamber's Chinese New Year Festival and Parade in San Francisco. This year, the company had locked up contracts for Fourth of July shows in cities including San Jose, St. Helena and Cloverdale — shows that had to be canceled. The Chinese New Year parade director told the Chronicle this week that Devastating Pyrotechnics has been hired to do the event for 'more than 10 years.' Organizers worked directly with Chee and Neil Li, the company's general manager, who was reported missing by family members following the explosion. DNA analysis will determine whether he was among the victims whose remains were found.
