Cheow Xin Yi Today Online 25 Nov 10;
SINGAPORE - While stingrays are not an uncommon show of affluence for collectors, fish breeders expressed disbelief yesterday at the notion that a stingray could sell for $200,000.
The stingray in question was one of the items former M1 employee Matthew Yeo allegedly told M1 he had splurged on, with Porsches and Rolexes being the others, according to court documents filed by the telco.
A police spokesman said on Tuesday that Mr Yeo, who is now out on bail, is being investigated for cheating and criminal breach of trust-related offences.
One fish breeder suggested that a stingray at that price may have been trafficked.
Another told MediaCorp that the most stingrays could fetch is up to $20,000, with freshwater fish farms selling them as a pair for breeding. The biggest would be around 45cm in length, said Aquarium Fish Dealer Association president Tan Tuck Hua. Any bigger and transporting it would be a problem.
Qian Hu Fish Farm Trading general manager Teo Boon Hock said it sells stingrays for between $5,000 and $12,000. He said: "How anyone could sell at $200,000 is a puzzle ... It could be a unique species." Cheow Xin Yi
