Quote:
Originally Posted by PREM8619
My experience is they offer you compound fine to be paid on the spot. Or you can fight the case and go to court.
My case was that I came back from Batam but had forgotten about an unopened 20stick pack of Marlboro in my backpack. When I was at the customs lane, the officer asked me got anything to declare and I replied no. He then asked me to open my backpack and while rummaging in it he found the pack of Marlboro. Immediately seized the Marlboro and my passport and asked to follow him into a room.
Was guarded inside the room until a female officer came at about an hour later to interview me and record my statement. After recording my statement, she told me that although she believe my story but she has to follow procedure and charge me. Since it is only 1 pack of Marlboro for my own personal consumption, she will offer to compound the offence into a fine. I have a choice whether to accept the compound fine or to seek legal representation. I choose to pay the fine.
KNN... they count the fine by the number of sticks of cigarettes. My pack of Marlboro had 20 sticks so they x 20 the amount. Total fine = S$400.00 
After paying the fine she warned me that since I already have a record in their database, if I am caught with duty unpaid cigarettes the next time it will be charge in court.
I gave up smoking that very same day. |
Sorry to hear about your experience.
As I said, "if youre lucky..."
In my case, I guess I was.
For me living in Vietnam it is much more difficult to quit smoking than when I was living back home in Singapore. Here, a pack of Marlboro is VND 20.000 (about SGD 1.20) whereas the same in Singapore is SGD 12. Basically the cost of one pack in Singapore can buy you a carton (10 packs) in Vietnam.