Lalamove delivery rider leaves $1,500 arowana in car for 4 hours, fish dies, courier fined
A Lalamove delivery driver was fined after leaving an arowana worth $1,500 in his car for over four hours, killing it.
Mohamad Isman Rosli, 26, faced one charge of mischief and another for lying to a police officer. He was fined $2,000 on March 5 after pleading guilty to one of the charges.
According to court documents, Isman was working part-time for delivery service Lalamove when he accepted his first assignment on the evening of October 7, 2025. He was tasked with picking up an Asian arowana from Fu Long Aquatics at 61 Lorong Chencharu in Khatib and delivering it to a customer.
At around 9pm, Isman picked up a white bag containing the fish from Fu Long Aquatics. He was aware the fish was alive.
About 40 minutes later, the Lalamove application glitched and accidentally cancelled the order. Instead of delivering the fish or returning it to the fish farm, he left the arowana in his car for at least four hours.
Threw dead fish into rubbish chute
Isman returned to the fish farm at about 1am after completing other orders, but found the place closed.
He subsequently brought the arowana to his home in Sembawang, where he discovered that the fish had died. The delivery rider then threw the fish away into a rubbish chute without informing the fish farm or the customer.
According to Shin Min Daily News, the prosecution alleged that Isman had left the fish in his car for several hours without proper care, resulting in its death and causing financial loss to the victims.
On October 8, 2025, a representative from Fu Long Aquatics lodged a police report after the fish went missing and Isman was uncontactable.
During an interview with the police, Isman lied that he had returned the arowana to the fish farm three hours after picking it up.
He finally admitted to throwing the fish away when officers confronted him with security footage. He was arrested on Jan 21 this year.
During sentencing, the judge noted that Isman was fortunate as the prosecution did not pursue additional charges against him.
Considering that Isman was a first-time offender, the judge imposed a fine of S$2,000. He would have to serve a two-week jail sentence if he were unable to pay the fine.
He has not made restitution to the affected customer.
Bag was pumped with 48 hours worth of oxygen: staff
When Shin Min visited the fish farm on March 6, a staff member stated that oxygen is usually pumped into the bags for transporting fish, allowing them to survive for up to 48 hours.
Mr Lim, the manager of Fu Long Aquatics, told Shin Min that the company had arranged for the delivery as the customer could not collect the fish in person. They had only learnt about the incomplete delivery the next morning when their customer notified them.
The fish farm immediately contacted Lalamove, who then reached out to Isman and advised the farm to lodge a police report.
"After this incident, we will require customers to pick up their orders in person or arrange for a delivery on their own," he said.

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