Prosecution seeking jail for man and woman in alleged smuggling of 14 arowanas

SINGAPORE: The prosecution is seeking one to five months’ jail for two foreigners accused of smuggling 14 arowanas into Singapore from Malaysia.
Malaysian Lim Chong Boon, 27, faces one charge of importing 14 Asian arowanas at about 8.15pm on Jun 25 in a Malaysian-registered vehicle at Woodlands Checkpoint.
The fish were packed in four plastic bags and placed in the rear passenger seats of the vehicle, according to the charge sheet.
His co-accused, 25-year-old Indonesian Kelly, who goes by one name, is accused of abetting the crime. The vehicle was purportedly registered in her name but driven by Lim.
Asked by the judge what the position on sentencing was, the prosecution said they were looking at one to three months’ jail for Kelly and three to five months for Lim.
The pair indicated through their lawyers that they were pleading not guilty.
The cases were adjourned to October for further mentions.
If convicted of importing a scheduled species without a permit or abetting such an act, a person can be jailed for up to six years, fined up to S$500,000, or both.
Two Malaysian men have been sentenced to jail so far this year over the smuggling of arowanas, the National Parks Board (NParks) told CNA last week.
Liyu Kim Guan was given nine months’ jail, while Mohd Firdaus Ng Abdullah was jailed for a week over a smuggling attempt.
NParks said there have been six cases of arowana smuggling detected this year through land, air and sea checkpoints.
It said that the smuggling and illegal trade of pets such as ornamental fish including Asian arowanas compromise the health and welfare of animals, and pose a threat to public health.
The board strongly encouraged prospective pet owners to adopt their pets from animal welfare groups or to purchase their pets from licensed pet shops and not from unknown sources on online platforms.
“We have a shared responsibility to safeguard animal health and welfare by not contributing to the demand for illegally imported animals,” NParks added.
“When we stop buying animals from unknown sources, the smuggling will cease.”