January 23, 2026
SINGAPORE – Between 2021 and 2024, a man committed a slew of offences, including possessing vapes for sale and threatening his mother with a katana, also known as a samurai sword.
Soon Yong Chao, 28, was sentenced to three months and 28 weeks’ jail on Jan 22 after he pleaded guilty to six charges. He was also fined $4,600.
Another 11 charges for various offences were taken into consideration for sentencing.
On Feb 22, 2025, Soon got into a dispute with his 57-year-old mother, identified as “Chiang” in court documents, after he asked her to help with his car instalment payment.
His mother refused and asked him to sell the car. Soon was angry and went back to his room while his mother went to cook dinner.
Soon then poured water from the second floor to the first floor of the house.
His mother told him to stop.
In retaliation, Soon took a katana with a 30cm blade from his bedroom and approached his mother.
He pointed the weapon at her and asked: “What you want now?”
Soon’s parents made a police report on the same day, and he was arrested.
Court documents stated that Soon started selling e-cigarettes in January 2021.
On March 18, 2021, officers from the Health Sciences Authority received a tip-off from a warehouse operator, who said there were several boxes of e-cigarettes and related components awaiting collection.
On the same day, two men turned up to collect the boxes, which were supposed to be delivered to a unit rented by Soon.
Officers conducted a controlled delivery on the same day and searched Soon’s rental unit.
They found 1,153 pieces of e-cigarette vaporisers and 16,299 pieces of e-cigarette pods.
Soon admitted he had been selling the items to earn money, telling officers that he earned between $5,000 and $8,000 monthly.
At about 2am on March 30, 2025, Soon took the spare keys to his mother’s car from a drawer in his home.
He did not have permission to borrow the car.
His driving licence was also suspended from March 25, 2025 to Sept 8, 2025.
He drove the vehicle to pick up his friend in Queensway and they went for supper.
Soon later continued to drive the car with no destination in mind, the court heard.
At about 5.30am, a member of the public called the police about a car moving erratically near Tuas Checkpoint.
Police officers went to the scene and stopped Soon along Boon Lay Way towards Commonwealth Avenue West. He was arrested.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Melissa Heng sought a sentence of four months and six to eight weeks’ jail and a fine for Soon.
She also asked the court to disqualify Soon from obtaining a licence for 12 months.
In sentencing, District Judge Lim Tse Haw noted that the duration of Soon’s offences had spanned more than four years.
He added that the number of e-cigarette pods found on him was a “staggering amount”.