SINGAPORE – Three Malaysian men were on Oct 14 each sentenced to five months jail for illegally importing marine creatures into Singapore without the required permits.
Khairul Ikmal Kamisan, 25, Wan Mohd Azizi Abdul Male, 20, and Dahlan Yahya, 43, were found guilty of trying to import 75 hard corals, 10 soft corals and two coco worms – all marine creatures sought after by aquarium hobbyists – into Singapore from Malaysia.
This was one of the largest seizures of smuggled corals to date, according to Singapore’s National Parks Board (NParks).
The illicit cargo was discovered by officers from Singapore’s Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) on July 11, 2024, at about 3.30pm at the Tuas Checkpoint.
The three men were drivers employed by a logistics company based in Johor Bahru, tasked with making deliveries in Singapore. Khairul was the main driver, while the other two were alternates.
Their lorry contained various items listed in a cargo clearance permit for Singapore. Court documents did not specify the items.
But during the inspection of the vehicle, ICA officers found two undeclared white boxes concealed in another box inside the lorry’s cargo hold.
“The two white boxes were searched by the ICA officers and live corals in 29 individual plastic packets were found. The matter was then referred to NParks for further investigations,” noted the statement of facts.
Court documents showed that the men would take instructions from their supervisor, referred to as Abang Yus, and Mazman, the owner of the unnamed company, through text messages.