‘A never-ending effort’: She chases down illicit product peddlers in Geylang

The Straits Times · SHARON SALIM, PHOTOS BY [CHONG JUN LIANG](https://www.straitstimes.com/authors/chong-jun-liang), Chong Jun Liang, Nicole Ng, Grace Tay, Lee Pei Jie, Lim En Xun, Sharon Salim · 2026-10-26 21:00 UTC

In this series, people from all walks of life offer an inside – often unfiltered – take on their livelihoods and what keeps them going in their jobs. In this instalment, hear from Tan Lee Lian on what it takes to carry out enforcement operations in Geylang, a peddling hot spot for illegal health products.

In this series, people from all walks of life offer an inside – often unfiltered – take on their livelihoods and what keeps them going in their jobs. In this instalment, hear from Tan Lee Lian on what it takes to carry out enforcement operations in Geylang, a peddling hot spot for illegal health products, as told to The Straits Times.

I am 48 and I have been working in the field enforcement and operations branch at the Health Sciences Authority (HSA), where I am an assistant director, since 2024.

I oversee a field enforcement team and am the only woman on the team.

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