HOW much is that doggie in the window?
The Singaporean man who claimed he bought this cute puppy from a pet shop in Malacca has found that it cost him a three-week jail sentence.
Tan Chai Teck, 29, pleaded guilty yesterday to importing the two-month-old white and brown shih tzu into Singapore, without a licence, on Aug 20.
Tan, a mechanic, had arrived at Woodlands Checkpoint in a taxi with a Malaysian friend, Ching Mee Ling, 32, a masseuse, at about 12.10am that day.
A police officer found the puppy in a paper bag which Ching was carrying. Neither of them could produce any import document for the puppy.
Yesterday, a warrant was issued for the arrest of Ching who failed to show up to answer the summons.
Agri-Food and Veterinary Services prosecuting officer Yap Teck Chuan, in pointing out that smuggling of pets like small dogs was hard to detect, sought a deterrent sentence for Tan.
He said any dog or cat imported from any country, except Australia, New Zealand, Britain and Ireland, had to be vaccinated against rabies and subsequently quarantined.
This is 'to safeguard Singapore against the introduction of diseases, especially rabies', he said. Someone bitten by a rabies-infected dog might die of the viral disease.
Malaysia, Mr Yap said, is not free from rabies.
Tan could have been fined up to $10,000 or jailed for up to 12 months or both under the Animals and Birds Act. Dogs here need a licence issued by the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority.
Meanwhile, Tan will not have to serve his sentence immediately as he has been given until Nov 30 to settle his personal matters first.
In 2001, a Malaysian taxi driver was jailed three months for smuggling four puppies into Singapore in his vehicle.
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