A couple was jailed on Wednesday, June 4, for smuggling dogs into Singapore from Malaysia.
Soon Boon Khong and Reina Wong Si Qi, both 28, will each serve three weeks’ jail term after they pleaded guilty to two charges of importing a dachshund and a pomeranian without a licence on Feb 2, 2023.
Two more accusations of smuggling two dogs the day before, a poodle and a pomeranian, were considered for punishment.
The two had posted canines for sale online, and a woman named Tok Su Wen contacted them to purchase a dachshund.
Earlier, Tok was fined S$7,000 (US$5,400) in the first prosecution against a buyer for abetting animal smuggling.
On Feb 2, 2023, Soon had driven from Malaysia to Singapore at 6 p.m., with Wong in the front passenger seat. The pomeranian and dachshund were hiding behind a sack beneath the front passenger seat.
In mitigation, the couple’s lawyer, Tan Cheng Kiong, stated that his clients only trafficked dogs on February 1 and 2, 2023, with no further evidence of further smuggling.
He noted that the canines had not been mistreated and were free of canine diseases.
The lawyer urged the court to penalize rather than imprison the pair because they were first-time offenders. Tan suggested that jail would be more appropriate for repeat offenders, as well as cases involving cruelty or syndicates.
He emphasized the pair’s young age and stated that they had learned their lesson. Tan advocated for the couple to get a “very short sentence” as an option.
Addressing the court, Wong stated that the two had checked the dogs’ vaccination status to assure their health.
District Judge Wong Li Tein ruled the pair more culpable than Tok since Tok committed the crime on her alone, whereas the accused couple smuggled for trade and profit.
Both had advertised their businesses, showing that the crimes were not opportunistic, Judge Wong stated.
She stated that the offenses constituted a public health danger that Singapore’s densely populated community could not bear. The judge believed that a jail term was warranted.
An offender who imports an animal without a license faces up to 12 months in jail, a fine of up to S$10,000, or both.
