A driver attempted to smuggle two pythons into Singapore and was caught by immigration officers at Tuas Checkpoint.
51-year-old Malaysian Pulenthiran Palaniappan was fined SGD$5,000.
The snakes were later discovered that they were suffering and they there in poor health condition due to poor handling.
Background:
On 7 April 2022, officers from the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) at Tuas Checkpoint conducted checks on a Malaysia-registered lorry transporting cement and uncovered a styrofoam box of live snakes.
The styrofoam box, which was hidden in the lorry’s cabin area, was found to have multiple perforations on its sides. The Malaysian driver had initially claimed that the box contained food but upon further questioning, he admitted that it contained live snakes.
As the driver did not possess valid import permits, he was referred to the National Parks Board (NParks) for investigation. NParks examined the snakes at its Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation. The snakes have been identified as Reticulated Pythons (Malayopython reticulatus), which is a species protected under Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), and are around 4.8m and 3.8m long.