Singapore stops missile parts shipment to Iran: paper

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - A Singapore-based cargo forwarding company has been fined S$22,000 ($14,500) for trying to export missile parts to Iran without permission, the Straits Times reported on Wednesday, quoting Singapore Customs.

A Singapore Customs spokesman Victor Seah told the paper that the parts, worth S$13,599, had arrived in Singapore from Switzerland and were being shipped to a destination in Iran.

The spokesman said that the company, World Freight Pte Ltd, had pleaded guilty.

The paper said officers of the Singapore customs intercepted a consignment of "controlled military electronic connectors" -- electronic parts meant for missiles.

Under the Strategic Goods (Control) Act, companies must get specific permission when they export or trans-ship certain types of "strategic goods", the paper said.

This covers items that could potentially be used to develop weapons of mass destruction, conventional arms and military equipment, and items used for both military and civil purposes such as lasers, cameras and chemicals.

($1=1.516 Singapore Dollar)