POKKA makes headlines for product shipment to North Korea

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Wholesale suppliers 123 Holdings and 123 Duty Free have been charged with exporting POKKA drinks and alcohol to North Korea, multiple media outlets said including The Straits Times and Channel NewsAsia.

According to media reports, 123 Duty Free faces five charges under the Regulation of Imports and Exports for exporting POKKA drinks to North Korea. They include POKKA Milk Coffee and POKKA Melon Milk. Citing court documents, ST said 123 Duty Free allegedly exported about SG$341,000 worth of drinks between 10 April and 8 August in 2018. The company faces a fine of up to SG$100,000 or thrice the value of the goods, whichever is greater, if convicted, media reports said.

Meanwhile, 123 Holdings faces five charges under the United Nations Act for supplying wines and spirits amounting to more than SG$720,000 to North Korea via China between November 2016 and July 2017. 123 Holdings could be slapped with a SG$1 million fine if convicted of supplying luxury items to North Korea, media reports said. Both cases are scheduled to be heard in court on 27 June. In 2017, Singapore suspended trade relations with North Korea. According to Reuters previously, Singapore said it will ban all commercially traded goods from, or to, North Korea.

News of reported illegal exports of POKKA products to North Korea first surfaced in 2019. The company previously denied knowledge of the alleged illegal exports reported by media outlets amidst the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' investigation into POKKA's exports.

POKKA's spokesperson explained previously that it requires a written declaration from all local exporters and local wholesalers that the ultimate destination is not North Korea and would immediately suspend business with customers in and outside Singapore that are suspected of trading in North Korea. It also said that it is unaware of any distributor with which it trades that exports POKKA products to North Korea.

The company also enforces "a firm policy" not to trade with distributors that export to North Korea directly or indirectly. The spokesperson also said then that POKKA has "robust internal policies" in place that would prevent the execution of a trade with a distributor in North Korea.

Aside from being embroiled in news about its products being exported to North Korea, POKKA has also made headlines since 2018 over its ambassador endorsement fee, ending its endorsement deal with near decade-long ambassador Vivian Lai, and suing ex-CEO Alain Ong for alleged conspiracy. Ong and two Kimly directors were also charged for disclosure offences last November.