SINGAPORE, Dec 22 — Two Malaysian men were arrested for bringing in four bottles of brown liquid, believed to be kratom on December 10 at Jurong Port, according to Singapore’s Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA).

In its Facebook page today, ICA said its officers discovered the bottles in a Malaysia-registered lorry conveying metal beams.

"Two other bottles containing remnants of a similar liquid were also found. The bottles were hidden beneath and behind the driver’s seat,” it said.

ICA noted that kratom contains ‘Mitragynine’ and ‘7-Hydromitragynine’, which are Class A controlled drugs listed under the Misuse of Drug Act.

The importation of any Class A controlled drugs into Singapore is an offence that, upon conviction, carries a punishment of between a minimum of five years’ imprisonment and five strokes of the cane, and a maximum of 30 years imprisonment and 15 strokes of the cane, it said.

"The two Malaysians, aged 35 and 38, were arrested for their connection to this case. The case has been referred to the Central Narcotics Bureau for further investigation,” said ICA. — Bernama