Yahoo Finance Man who smuggled 4 kittens in pants through Tuas Checkpoint charged
SINGAPORE — A man was charged in court on Wednesday (23 December) after he was caught smuggling four kittens hidden in the crotch area of his pants while passing through Tuas Checkpoint last year.
Justin Ng Chin Boon, 46, was handed four charges of causing each of the kittens unnecessary suffering in such manner of conveyance. His charge sheet states that he kept the kittens in cramped conditions with poor ventilation and temperature control such that “the kitten was exposed to (his) body heat during the transportation journey”.
On 2 January last year, Ng, a Singaporean, was allegedly in the front passenger seat at Arrival Zone 2 of Tuas Checkpoint when he was caught. In a Facebook post three days after the incident, the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority said that its officers were conducting checks when they heard “meowing” sounds coming from a bulge in Ng’s pants.
Ng also faces one charge each of importing the four kittens without a licence issued by the authorities.
Another man who was allegedly driving the car, Leow Hua Liang, a 42-year-old Singaporean, was charged with abetting Ng.
Ng was also charged over a separate incident on 11 August 2018, where he is accused of abetting a person known as Leong Sok Boy to import into Singapore seven cats hidden in a hand-carry bag and a plastic canvas bag placed at the rear passenger seat of the car through the same checkpoint.
He is said to have assisted in trying to conceal the bags and failing to declare them to the inspecting officers.
Alongside Ng, Leong, a 71-year-old Singaporean woman, was also charged with importing the seven cats without a license. Leow was also the alleged driver for this incident and was charged with intentionally aiding Leong with her alleged offence.
Separately, Leow is said to have illegally imported an Oriental White-Eye bird by conveying it in a manner which caused it unnecessary suffering. He was handed two charges for the incident.
Leow allegedly kept the bird in a zippered pouch, hidden in the driver’s door panel in a car that he was driving through Tuas Checkpoint on 5 January last year, three days after the incident involving the kittens.
All three individuals will return to court on 27 January next year for further mention of their case.
If convicted of importing an animal without a license, a person may be jailed up to a year and/or fined up to $10,000. For causing it unnecessary suffering, a person may faces the same penalty on a first offence.
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