ELGIN CHONG Today Online 23 Jan 15;
SINGAPORE — A 42-year-old Indian national was sentenced to 19 months jail total for animal cruelty and the smuggling of 190 endangered turtles through Singapore, said the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) in a statement today (Jan 23).
The man had attempted to smuggle three luggage bags stuffed with the live turtles at Changi Airport on Jan 7. He was detained by Certis CISCO aviation security officers after 190 Black Pond turtles were found in the bags.
The turtles — which are critically endangered — are estimated to be worth almost S$100,000, and are believed to be in high demand in the exotic pet trade.
When found, the turtles were severely dehydrated and in “very poor condition”, the AVA said. The luggages had been lined with diapers and cloth by the culprit to absorb their waste.
The turtles were subsequently sent to Wildlife Reserves Singapore to be monitored. However, all 190 turtles died, or had to be put down due to welfare considerations, the AVA said.
Investigations revealed that the accused had been approached by a friend to deliver the turtles to Indonesia, which would be passed to an unknown man. The bags had arrived on a flight from Bangladesh’s Dhaka International Airport in transit to Surabaya via Singapore.
“The Singapore Government has zero tolerance on the use of Singapore as a conduit to smuggle endangered species and their parts and products,” said the AVA. “We will not hesitate to take harsh enforcement actions against any person or company that smuggles wildlife through Singapore.”
Smuggler of endangered turtles jailed
Channel NewsAsia 23 Jan 15;
SINGAPORE: For trying to smuggle 190 endangered turtles in luggage bags through Singapore, a man from India was sentenced to 16 months' jail, the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) said on Friday (Jan 23).
The man was also given a three-month jail sentence for animal cruelty. Both sentences will run concurrently.
All 190 Black Pond turtles died or had to be put down as a result of severe dehydration, AVA said. They had been stuffed into three luggage bags, and were found by Certis CISCO aviation security officers at Changi Airport on Jan 7.
The bags had arrived from Dhaka International Airport in Bangladesh, and were in transit to Surabaya in Indonesia, via Singapore. The culprit had lined the luggage with diapers and cloth to absorb the turtles' waste. AVA said they were in "poor condition" when discovered.
The turtles in question are from a critically endangered species, and are estimated to be worth S$100,000. They are believed to be in high demand in the exotic pet trade, AVA said.
The 42-year-old man was immediately detained at Changi Airport. Investigations revealed he had been approached by a friend to deliver the turtles to another man in Indonesia.
"The Singapore Government has zero tolerance on the use of Singapore as a conduit to smuggle endangered species and their parts and products," AVA said. "We will not hesitate to take harsh enforcement actions against any person or company that smuggles wildlife through Singapore."
- CNA/xk
Man jailed for smuggling 190 endangered turtles through Singapore
AsiaOne 23 Jan 15;
SINGAPORE - An Indian national was sentenced to 16 months in jail today for smuggling 190 endangered turtles through Singapore.
He also received a jail term of three months for animal cruelty to the turtles. Both sentences will run concurrently.
The 42-year-old had been approached by a friend to deliver the turtles from Bangladesh to an unknown man in Surabaya.
He was detained while in transit at Changi Airport on Jan 7, after three pieces of his luggage were found to contain live turtles during screening by aviation security officers.
The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) investigated and found them to be black pond turtles, a critically endangered species of which international trading is prohibited.
"The turtles arrived severely dehydrated and were in very poor condition. They were sent to Wildlife Reserves Singapore to be monitored and have since died or had to be put down due to welfare considerations," the AVA said in a statement today.
It added that the 190 black pond turtles were estimated to be worth almost $100,000 and are believed to be in high demand in the exotic pet trade.
The accused could have been fined up to $50,000 per scheduled species, but not exceeding a maximum aggregate of $500,000, and jailed up to two years for infringing the Endangered Species (Import and Export) Act.
For animal cruelty, he could have been fined up to $10,000 and jailed up to 12 months.
