BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

A MALAYSIAN man has been fined $14,000 for attempting to smuggle 35 cartons of untaxed cigarettes and four bottles of liquor across the border.

Court documents state that the defendant, Kong Siew Fung, 43, was driving from Limbang, Sarawak, towards Brunei on July 31 when he was stopped at the Kuala Lurah Control Post for a routine customs inspection.

He told officers he had “nothing to declare” but a customs inspection revealed 35 cartons of ERA brand cigarettes hidden in various parts of his vehicle, as well as four bottles of whiskey.

Upon questioning, the defendant told officers he knew it was an offence to bring the cigarettes in without a permit.

The excise duty to be paid on the items was $1,793.

Under section 146 (1) (i) of the Excise Order, individuals found guilty of bringing in untaxed goods are liable to a fine of not less than six times the amount of excise duty or $40,000, whichever is the lesser amount.

If the defendant fails to pay the fine, he must serve a default prison term of 11 months.

In a separate case, a 38-year-old Malaysian man was fined $2,000 for attempting to smuggle six cartons of cigarettes into Brunei, without paying the excise duty.

The court gave him four months to pay the fine, failing which he must serve a default sentence of four months in prison.

The Brunei Times