Couple smuggles puppies from M’sia to S’pore, sells them from Hougang flat and pockets $21k
A woman and her husband conspired to illegally smuggle puppies from Malaysia into Singapore before selling them from their Hougang HDB flat, making about $21,000 in profits within a few months.
According to Shin Min Daily News, the woman, Ng Siew Teng, 28, faced 13 charges under the Animals and Birds Act. She pleaded guilty to five charges, with the remaining charges to be taken into consideration during sentencing.
Court documents showed that the couple began planning the operation in 2023.
Hired accomplice
Ng was responsible for contacting puppy suppliers in Malaysia through social media and arranging for the animals to be collected at a rented apartment in Johor.
In the middle of 2023, she persuaded a 23-year-old accomplice to help repost advertisements for the puppies on TikTok. She promised the accomplice, Bryan Peh Jia Hao, commission for every puppy sold through the referrals.
A few months later, in October 2023, Peh was also hired to smuggle the puppies into Singapore by car.
Under the arrangement, he was paid between $250 and $300 for every animal successfully brought across the border.
Sold 21 puppies
Investigations revealed that between October and December 2023, the couple kept the smuggled puppies at their HDB flat in Hougang before advertising and selling them through social media accounts created by Ng.
They also arranged for prospective buyers to view the puppies at the void deck below their block.
Within just a few months, the couple sold 21 puppies, including pomeranians, corgis, huskies, golden retrievers and labrador retrievers, for between $1,900 and $3,000 each.
Their total sales amounted to about $48,700, from which they made approximately $21,000 in illegal profits.
Five puppies intercepted at Woodlands Checkpoint
On Dec 26, 2023, Ng was contacted by a seller in Malaysia to arrange the delivery of another five puppies into Singapore.
Her husband, Callurn Lim Yuan Jin, then contacted the accomplice and instructed him to smuggle the puppies into Singapore together with duty-unpaid cigarettes.
Ng personally witnessed the five puppies being loaded into the boot of the vehicle before returning to Singapore.
At about 5am on Dec 27, 2023, the vehicle was selected for a random inspection at the Woodlands Checkpoint. Officers discovered the five puppies — all two-month-old pomeranians — hidden in the boot.
The case was subsequently referred to the National Parks Board (NParks) for investigation.
The court adjourned the case to Aug 5 for sentencing.
Ng’s husband has also been charged in connection with the offences and is expected to plead guilty next month.
The accomplice, Peh, was sentenced to 16 weeks’ jail in January for his role in smuggling the puppies into Singapore.
5 puppies suffered ill-treatment during transport, infected with virus
Investigators found that the five puppies had been subjected to unnecessary suffering and ill-treatment during transportation.
Two of the puppies were confined in a pet carrier, which had been tightly packed into a plastic storage box already containing the other three puppies.
The cramped conditions severely restricted the puppies’ movements, preventing the three outside the carrier from stretching or maintaining a natural posture.
Investigators also found that the plastic storage box could easily shift or tip over during transportation, putting the animals at risk of physical injury.
All five puppies later tested positive for canine parvovirus, a highly contagious disease that can cause vomiting, diarrhoea, rapid dehydration, sepsis and death.
Under the Animals and Birds Act, offenders caught importing any animal or bird without a licence may be fined up to $10,000, jailed for up to 12 months, or both.
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