Claiming to want to keep a young man’s record clear of any offences, a Singaporean man resorted to eating a cigarette which belonged to the latter so that he could escape enforcement action.
As a result of his bizarre actions, the man was eventually fined S$1,000 (approx. RM3,400) by the court on Tuesday (Jul 30).
SG man eats cigarette to help teen avoid getting fined
According to CNA, the court heard that 53-year-old Ramamoorthy Reddiar Jayaraman was drinking beer by himself at the void deck of Block 515, Hougang Avenue 10 at about 8.40pm on Mar 18.
He was later joined by a teenager, who began smoking despite a “No Smoking” sign being erected at the void deck. The court was also told that Ramamoorthy and the teen weren’t related to each other.
Not long after, two officers from the National Environment Agency (NEA) appeared and conducted checks at the void deck, where one of them spotted the teen smoking away.
After approaching the teen and introduced herself as an NEA officer, she informed the teen that he had committed an offense and requested him to provide his particulars.
Nervous by the encounter, the teen didn’t reply, causing the officer to repeat herself.
Ramamoorthy then told the teen to hand him the cigarette he had been smoking before stuffing it right into his mouth and telling the teen to flee, which the latter did promptly.
As a result of Ramamoorthy’s cigarette-eating antics, the NEA officers were unable take possession of the cigarette which was connected to an offense.
‘I didn’t know eating cigarettes was an offense’
In court, Ramamoorthy, who was unrepresented, pleaded guilty to one charge under the Smoking (Prohibition in Certain Places) Act for obstructing an NEA enforcement officer.
He faced a maximum fine of S$2,000 (approx. RM6,800) as a first-time offender.
In mitigation, Ramamoorthy said he ate the cigarette “at the spur of the moment” and did so as he wanted to help the teenager avoid having a “blemished record at a tender age”.
He also claimed that he didn’t know eating cigarettes was a crime in Singapore.
In response, district Judge Shaiffudin Saruwan corrected him by saying that he was charged not because he ate a cigarette, adding that he could eat “all number of cigarettes” as he wanted.
“You are here for the offence of obstructing the exercise of an NEA officer’s power. I just want to disabuse you of the misimpression,” he said.
Ramamoorthy later paid the fine in full and the teen has not yet been caught.
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