Singapore  - Peddlers from China and Vietnam are hawking bootleg cigarettes openly in Singapore and even stopping cars to sell their stash, The Sunday Times said.

The cigarettes are smuggled in on board cargo ships which dock at Jurong Port.

The peddlers buy their contraband at about 2 Singapore dollars (1.39 US dollars) for a pack of 20 sticks and resell them to street buyers in the Geylang area, the report said.

A pack of Marlboro Red or Marlboro Menthol costs up to 6 Singapore dollars (4.19 US dollars), half of the amount a duty-paid pack costs in the city-state.

Buyers in the red-light area popular among prostitutes appeared to be mostly workers from India and China, according to the newspaper.

"The cigarettes here are half the price of those from shops," buyer Zhu Songren, a worker from China, was quoted as saying. "The taste is also stronger."

Under the law, buyers face fines of up to 5,000 Singapore dollars (3,496 US dollars).

Sellers are fined not less than 10 times the amount of customs duty evaded. A jail term may also be imposed.

Fifty-one peddlers have been prosecuted since January. Another 197 people were caught and fined for buying the contraband cigarettes. More than 1,000 packets were seized.

Singapore carries out vigorous anti-smoking campaigns and prohibits smoking from any air-conditioned facilities. The high price for a pack is part of the effort to discourage youngsters from starting to smoke. (dpa)