Bird smuggling: Malaysian trader fined $6,000

[General Veers]

Bird smuggling: Malaysian trader fined $6,000

Published on Mar 24, 2012

The three Oriental White-eye songbirds (above) were packed into narrow PVC pipes placed in a basket, covered with a face towel, and put on the front passenger seat of Yee's car. They stayed there for more than six hours. -- PHOTOS: AVA

A Malaysian man was on Friday fined $6,000 for trying to smuggle three birds through the Woodlands Checkpoint on Wednesday.

Yee Shen Yaw, 38, had packed the birds into narrow PVC pipes hidden under a piece of cloth in his car.

He was charged with importing the animals into Singapore without a licence, and unreasonably causing unnecessary suffering to the animals.

Yee, who is a trader dealing in bird cages and bird food, tried to enter the country at about 6.45am.

Read the full story in Saturday's edition of The Straits Times.