Retired Suria Actor Caught Selling Vapes On Instagram, Fined on 9 Mar
On Thursday (11 Mar), 44-year-old retired local actor Mikhail Abdul Razak, better known as Nick Mikhail, was fined S$13,000 for selling and offering vapes on various occasions. The ex-actor used to appear on the Malay-language television channel Suria.
Source: Mediacorp Suria via The Star
His illegal activity was detected by an officer from the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) in December 2019.
He has already paid S$6,500 of the fine as of 9 Mar and will pay for the rest of the fine in instalments.
Advertised e-cigarette products on Instagram
According to The Straits Times (ST), Mikhail was caught by an HSA officer in December 2019 during online surveillance of vape peddlers.
About a week later, Mikhail offered to sell several vape products to an undercover HSA officer.
After Mikhail passed the vape products to the undercover HSA officer, the officer revealed his identity. HSA then searched Mikhail’s car and home where they found and seized e-cigarettes and related paraphernalia.
HSA prosecutor Caleb Looi noted that Mikhail shared an advertisement regarding imitation tobacco products on his Instagram account in October 2019. Through the advertisement, Instagram users could connect and communicate with Mikhail to purchase these products.
He successfully sold his vape products on several occasions to Instagram users, earning himself about S$2,500 to S$3,000. For instance, in December 2019, he sold two vapes to an Instagram user — one cost S$66 while the other cost S$80.
Court issued S$13,000 fine
Mikhail told the court that he committed the offences in 2019 during a desperate time. He mentioned to ST that he had “a few shares in shops in Kuala Lumpur”, allowing him to gain access to the e-cigarettes easily. As a result, selling these vapes became a “temptation” for him.
Admitting that what he did was wrong, Mikhail said he’s a different person now.
Mikhail pleaded guilty to one charge of promoting the e-cigarettes and six counts of either selling or offering to sell them. The court also took into consideration 25 other similar charges during his sentencing.
In the end, the former actor was fined S$13,000. He paid S$6,500 of the fine on Thursday (9 Mar) and will pay the rest in instalments.
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Featured image adapted from @nickmikhailrazak on Instagram and Yandex. Image on right is for illustration purposes only.
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