Nicholas Yong, Straits Times 4 Feb 09;
THE owners of 10 stolen exotic tortoises worth almost $75,000 have got seven of them back - but the man who returned them is now assisting the police with their investigations.
According to the owners of the Live Turtle and Tortoise Museum at the Chinese Garden in Jurong, he resembles one of the two thieves caught on closed-circuit television (CCTV) making off with the reptiles.
The Indian Star Tortoises and highly endangered Radiated Tortoises were stolen on Saturday night.
On Monday morning, museum owner Danny Tan, 70, received a call by a man who offered to return the tortoises for a 'good lunch'.
The man in his 30s arrived at the museum at about 11.15am. He carried a haversack filled with five Indian Star Tortoises and two Radiated Tortoises, worth a total of $50,000.
He claimed to have bought them last Saturday night from a man at Lakeside MRT station for under $2,000.
The man added that he realised who the reptiles belonged to when he read a Straits Times article about the theft on Monday.
The story smelt fishy to Mr Tan, who also noticed that the man was of the same build and demeanour as one of the two thieves caught on camera.
His suspicions were further aroused when the man asked to see the CCTV footage from that night. So Mr Tan kept him talking while his wife signalled an employee to call the police. He was later asked to go with the policemen.
Police confirmed that seven of the tortoises had been returned. A man is currently assisting police with their investigations, which are ongoing.
It is the third time in two years that the museum has been burgled. The most recent was in June last year, when 18 tortoises worth more than $80,000 were stolen.
They were eventually recovered, thanks to the efforts of the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA). AVA officers traced the culprit to his home, where he was found with the stolen reptiles.
Mr Tan estimates that he has had 29 tortoises stolen over the years, though he has recovered most of them.
His collection of almost 3,500 tortoises and turtles is the largest in the world, making it to the Guinness World Records. He first began amassing them more than four decades ago.
But enough is enough, he said. He is now thinking of selling the museum.
'Each theft causes us a lot of pain and stress. If we can find someone who can take over, we will let go of the collection,' he said.
Radiated Tortoise
# Native to southern Madagascar, and also found on the islands of Reunion and Mauritius
# Can grow up to 41cm long and weigh up to 16kg
# The oldest tortoise on record is a radiated tortoise, attaining an age of 188
# Classified by Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) as a highly endangered species which faces extinction if trade in it is not severely restricted
# Commercial trade in these species is generally prohibited
Indian Star Tortoise
# Found in dry areas and scrub forest in India and Sri Lanka
# Grows up to 30cm long
# Classified by AVA as a species which may become endangered if trade in it is not regulated
# Trade is allowed by the AVA if specimens have proper permits
A total of three Radiated Tortoises and seven Indian Star Tortoises were taken from the Live Turtle and Tortoise Museum. One radiated tortoise and two Indian Star tortoises are still missing.
Theft of 10 exotic tortoises: Three men in dock
Straits Times 5 Feb 09;
THREE men were charged in court yesterday in connection with the theft of 10 exotic tortoises worth almost $75,000.
Lim Kah Kheng, 25, Arun Kumar Manivanan, 17, and Dave Tan Jui Seng, 19, were each charged with one count of housebreaking by night with the intention of committing theft.
On Jan 31, at about 9.50pm, the trio, together with three other accomplices, allegedly climbed over a side wall of the Live Turtle and Tortoise Museum at the Chinese Garden in Jurong and gained entry into the premises.
They are believed to have made off with three highly endangered Radiated Tortoises valued at $66,000, and seven Indian Star Tortoises valued at $8,400.
On Monday, one of them allegedly tried to make a deal with the owners to return some of the tortoises in exchange for what he termed 'a good lunch', but was subsequently arrested by police.
The three men will appear in court next Wednesday. They are currently being remanded.
If found guilty, they could each be jailed for between two and 14 years.
Their accomplices are still being sought by the authorities.
Seven of the tortoises have since been recovered by the owners of the museum. One Radiated Tortoise and two Indian Star Tortoises are still missing.
It was the third burglary at the museum in two years.
Its collection of almost 3,500 turtles and tortoises is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the world's largest.
NICHOLAS YONG