SINGAPORE: An unemployed man was fined S$2,600 on Tuesday (Sep 26) for abandoning his pet stingrays by releasing them into Lower Seletar Reservoir.
District Judge Kenneth Choo criticised Larry Tan Chin Guan’s “irresponsible and unwise” decision to release the poisonous rays into the reservoir, putting the public at risk. The stingrays have not been sighted since Tan released them on Jun 2 in the afternoon.
In court on Tuesday, the 48-year-old Tan said he did not know what he did was not allowed, “otherwise I wouldn’t have done it in the daytime,” he said.
This is believed to be the first case involving the release of stingrays into the wild.
Tan pleaded guilty on Tuesday to one count of pet abandonment under the Animals and Birds Act and one count of releasing the rays into the reservoir, an offence under the Public Utilities (Reservoirs, Catchment Areas and Waterway) Regulations.
At least three people reported Tan to the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) and the Public Utilities Board (PUB) after coming across a video Tan had posted on a Facebook page for fish and aquatic enthusiasts.
The video showed Tan releasing the stingrays into the reservoir.
According to court documents, Tan had decided to abandon the Motoro stingrays to make room for five new Black Diamond stingrays he had bought. Tan said he thought it was better to “let (the rays) back into nature” than to sell them.
AVA prosecutor Yap Teck Chuan sought a S$2,000 fine, while PUB prosecutor Khong Pui Pui sought a fine of at least S$500.
The release of animals bred in captivity harms the animal as well as the acquiatic ecosystem, Ms Khong said.
The prosecutor added the PUB has advised all participants in water activities to put on appropriate footwear and not to stand or walk in the shallow areas of the reservoir.
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