Man who tried to bring kueh, Ramly burger patties through Tuas checkpoint faces 3 new charges

The man who drove through Tuas checkpoint without heeding requests for further checks is facing another three charges.

Mohamed Dawood R M Abdul Sukkur, 47, was given two charges by the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) for not having a licence to bring in food items he had in his black BMW car.

On one charge, he had imported 145 boxes of assorted traditional cakes and pastries or kueh weighing about 200kg and four bottles of maize drink weighing about 1kg from Malaysia. On another charge, the accused was also found to have imported 105 packets of Ramly beef patties weighing 37.8kg.

The police had given the accused another charge for disposing the beef patties, knowing they were incriminating evidence, into the open drainage along the Pan-Island Expressway towards Changi Airport before the Pioneer Road North exit.

The accused now faces four charges in total.

Under Section 5(1) and 5(2)(b) of the Wholesome Meat and Fish Act, Dawood could be sentenced up to two years' jail, fined up to S$50,000, or both, for the unlicensed import of meat products. For bringing in the kueh without a licence, Dawood could be fined up to S$1,000. For disposing of the beef patties and intentionally perverting the course of justice, Dawood could be sentenced to up to seven years' jail, fined, or both.

The case will be heard next on Aug 5 at 10am, pending further charges by the Singapore Customs.

He was previously charged with committing a rash act endangering human life or personal safety of others after allegedly driving his car at 142km/h within a confined security checkpoint area with a speed limit of 15km/h.

The rash driving charge still stands unamended. If found guilty of this charge, Dawood could be sentenced up to six months' jail, fined up to S$2,500, or both.

On Jun 23, Dawood was driving a BMW 7-series through the checkpoint from Malaysia to Singapore when immigration officials directed him to a designated inspection bay for further checks. He had earlier cleared immigration and had proceeded to the customs red channel to declare the food products he was bringing into Singapore.

During the checks, officers found discrepancies in the quantities of food declared. But instead of stopping at the inspection bay for further checks, he drove off. The police found the car along Pioneer Road North slightly after 2pm and Dawood was subsequently arrested.