SINGAPORE: He had smuggled 3 Red-whiskered Bulbul birds by hiding them inside three small boxes under the carpet of his car seats.
For that, 29-year-old Muhammad Farhan bin Abdullah was sentenced to three months imprisonment for illegal importing animals and for subjecting them to unnecessary suffering and pain.
Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers at the Woodlands Checkpoint had alerted the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority (AVA) to the incident on June 6 when officers detected three live birds the Singapore-registered car.
Animals that are smuggled into Singapore are of unknown health status and may introduce exotic diseases, into the country, AVA and ICA said in a joint statement.
The importation of any animals or live birds without an AVA permit is illegal and carries a maximum penalty of $10,000 and/or imprisonment of up to one year.
