GEIS-新闻详情

Company fined $10k over unlawful supply of 500 bottles of perfume to North Korea

2023-07-28 00:00:00.0 海峡时报-新加坡原网页

SINGAPORE - A company that deals with items such as skincare products and toiletries was fined $10,000 on Wednesday over an unlawful supply of 500 bottles of perfume to North Korea worth $2,950 in total.

Due to United Nations sanctions, it is illegal for anyone or any firm in Singapore to supply, sell or transfer designated luxury items such as perfumes to North Korean entities.

Shehzad Traders was convicted on Tuesday of an offence under the UN (Sanctions-Democratic People’s Republic of Korea) Regulations 2010.

A director and shareholder at the firm, Mr Mohamed Raffik Mohamed Ishak, 60, who was accused of a similar offence, was given a discharge not amounting to an acquittal.

Those given such a discharge can still be prosecuted for the same crime if relevant information or evidence were to emerge later.

This followed representations in Mr Raffik’s case by defence lawyer Navin Naidu, from Dentons Rodyk. Details were not disclosed in court documents that The Straits Times received.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Jordon Li said that North Korean Irene Choe met Shehzad Traders employee Muhammad Wahab Dilawar on March 13, 2013, in Singapore.

Get a round-up of the top stories to start your day

Thank you!

By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy and T&Cs.

Ms Choe, who was then a buyer for a North Korea-based firm called Haeyang Trading Corp, wanted to buy perfume and agreed on the prices with Mr Wahab. He generated a sales confirmation sheet for 500 bottles of perfume worth $2,950. Ms Choe paid for them in cash.

Mr Raffik then approved the sale.

DPP Li said the document stated that Haeyang Trading Corp was based in North Korea.

After that, Ms Choe made arrangements with another firm called Eluva International for the bottles of perfume to be consolidated with other goods she had bought and shipped to North Korea.

According to court documents, Eluva International engaged another company, Muller+Partner (Singapore), to provide freight services to ship the perfumes there. The shipment left Singapore on March 17, 2013.

DPP Li urged the court to sentence Shehzad Traders to a fine of $10,000, adding: “Compliance with (the) resolutions is paramount as they concern threats to international peace and security, and any contravention could result in intentional condemnation, or even sanctions, being directed at Singapore.”

Pleading for the firm to be fined $5,000, Mr Navin said the reference to a North Korean customer address on the documents was not immediately noticeable.

He also told the court that this was a one-off incident for his client.