SINGAPORE: A man who attempted to smuggle 23 puppies into Singapore from Malaysia, 11 of which later died, was sentenced on Wednesday (Jun 19) to one year and eight months' jail.
Singaporean Cheow Yon Siong, 53, had pleaded guilty to two charges under the Animals and Birds Act and another two for possessing and consuming methamphetamine.
AdvertisementAdvertisementCheow admitted to using his yacht to help his accomplice, Malaysian Yeun Jian Iun, smuggle the puppies into Singapore on Oct 28, 2016.
Yeun had been promised S$1,000 by a middleman to smuggle the puppies - nine poodles, five shih tzus, four pomeranians, three French bulldogs and two golden retrievers - from Malaysia's Sebana Cove into Singapore.
The Police Coast Guard stopped the Singapore-registered yacht for routine inspection and heard the sound of dogs barking, which came from cargo that was covered with large pieces of cloth.
They found the puppies - which were very young and estimated to be between four and seven weeks old and recently weaned - kept in cramped conditions in six cages with no food or water.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAfter the puppies were found, some of them began vomiting and having diarrhoea, and could not eat on their own.
They were found to have been infected with parvovirus, a contagious animal disease. By late November, 10 of the dogs had died, and another euthanised.
Cheow's lawyer Noor Mohamed Marican asked the judge for a sentence of eight months' jail, while the prosecutor asked for 22 months.
The defence lawyer said Cheow was sincerely remorseful and regretted his actions, and was "not in the best of health".
He read out a letter Cheow's wife had written in mitigation, where she asked the judge for leniency and said her husband was a kind person with a big heart.
Cheow was sentenced to six years and six months' jail for drug trafficking in August.
The judge ordered the new sentence to run after his current sentence is completed.
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