SINGAPORE, Sept. 5 -- A Chinese national has been slapped with a record S$560,000 (RM1.74 million) fine for masterminding a scheme to smuggle nearly 30,000 bottles of duty-unpaid beer into Singapore.

Han Xiaoyang, 47, pled guilty yesterday to seven charges of fraudulently evading duty, Singapore-based news outlet CNA reported, citing information from the Customs Department.

"Investigations revealed that Han had conceived and orchestrated a scheme to import duty-unpaid beer from China into Singapore through false declarations," Customs was quoted as saying.

But Han did not pay the fine and as such, will instead serve 164 days in jail in default.

The seven charges centred on his evasion of roughly S$60,127 (RM187,000) in duty on 28,236 ...