Man jailed for smuggling 58 Indian star tortoises through S'pore

A man was in India when he agreed to help a friend transport a piece of luggage to Indonesia after the latter claimed that it contained women’s clothing.

However, the bag contained 58 Indian star tortoises and they were uncovered when Indian national Abdul Jaffar Haji Ali, 40, arrived at Changi Airport on Aug 29 to take another flight to Jakarta.

One of them was dead while 22 others were later assessed to be “thin”.

According to online animal encyclopedia Animalia, the Indian star tortoise is a threatened species and its name comes from the star-like patterns on its shell. It is listed as “vulnerable” in the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List.

On Dec 10,  Jaffar was sentenced to a year and four months’ jail after he pleaded guilty to unlawfully importing the tortoises into Singapore.

National Parks Board (NParks) prosecutor Lim Chong Hui told the court that Jaffar had earlier made plans to travel to Jakarta for a holiday.

The court heard that he also wanted to buy some women’s clothes there for his business in India.

The friend, identified in court documents as “Bhai”, then helped Jaffar with all the logistical arrangements for the trip, including paying for his flight and arranging his accomodation.

In return, Bhai asked for Jaffar’s help to transport a piece of packed luggage to Jakarta where an intended recipient would meet the latter to collect it.

The NParks prosecutor told the court: “On July 16, before his departure for Jakarta, Bhai had sent a text message to the accused sharing a news article about the seizure of star tortoises in India.

“The accused did not make any further queries with Bhai about the reason for sharing the article.”

Jaffar was at the Chennai International Airport on Aug 28 when Bhai arrived at around 9am and handed him the pre-packed luggage.

Jaffar did not ask Bhai about its contents. However, Bhai voluntarily told him that it contained women’s clothing.

Mr Lim added: “The accused did not check the contents of the luggage to verify what Bhai told him and simply checked in the luggage before boarding his flight.

“At all material times, the accused had ample opportunity to check and verify the contents of the luggage himself in the presence of Bhai.”

On Aug 29, Jaffar arrived at Changi Airport Terminal 2 where he was supposed to board a connecting flight to Indonesia.

During a screening, officers from the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority found something suspicious in the luggage Bhai had handed him.

They opened it in Jaffar’s presence and the 58 tortoises were found concealed inside, wrapped in a cloth bundle.

The animals were seized and sent to the Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation.

A vet then found that the manner in which the tortoises were transported into Singapore had caused them unnecessary suffering.

According to the vet, the transport conditions did not meet the standards prescribed in the International Air Transport Association’s guidelines on the safe and humane transport of animals.

Among other things, the luggage was a soft case and was not sturdy enough to withstand heavy stacking or other external forces.

This created a risk of the animals being crushed during transport, which may lead to injuries or death.

There were also no ventilation openings in the luggage, creating a risk of suffocation for the tortoises.

Overall, the tortoises were assessed to be in slightly poor to acceptable health conditions.