Student fined maximum $10,000 for smuggling in puppy

A STUDENT who smuggled in a puppy from Johor Baru was slapped with the maximum fine of $10,000 on Wednesday.

Liu Liangwu, 21, pleaded guilty on Monday to importing the two-month-old chihuahua from Malaysia without a licence on Dec 24 last year.

A Customs officer was checking a car, driven by Liu, when he felt something furry on opening a compartment under the driver's seat.

Liu admitted that it was a puppy he had bought from a pet shop in Johor Baru. He did not apply for a licence from the Director-General, Agri-Food and Veterinary Services.

Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority prosecutor Yap Teck Chuan asked the court for a deterrent sentence.

He said the Animals and Birds (Quarantine) Rules required any dog or cat imported from any country except Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom and Ireland to be vaccinated against rabies and a subsequent 30-day quarantine.

This is to safeguard Singapore against diseases, especially rabies - a fatal viral disease which can be transmitted to humans or any warm-blooded animal through the bite of an infected animal - from spreading here.

'The risk of a rabies incursion is a serious concern as we are surrounded by infected countries. Singapore has been free from rabies since 1953,' he said.

Malaysia is not rabies-free and dogs imported from the country which have not undergone the required import procedures would pose a risk to the public here, he said.

Liu's lawyer, Mr Khoo Aik Yeow, said his client, an animal lover, bought the puppy for RM1,400 (about S$615) from an established pet shop in JB. The pet shop owner had assured him that the puppy was healthy, vaccinated and free from any diseases. Liu regretted the offence and promised not to do it in future.

District Judge May Mesenas said the case clearly called for a stiff sentence to reflect the seriousness of the offence.

She accepted the prosecutor's argument that there was a need to deter such offences from being committed, especially bringing in a dog which had not been vaccinated and subject to quarantine controls.

The puppy was seized. A locally bred chihuahua costs about $900 while an imported one from Australia can range from $1,000 to $2,000.

In 2001, a man who smuggled in four puppies was given three months' jail while another offender was given three weeks last year for importing a shih tzu from Malacca.