Hook, Line, and Arowana: A Fishy Business…
A Malaysian man named Liyu Kim Guan has been sentenced to nine months in prison for smuggling Asian arowanas into Singapore. The National Parks Board (NParks) revealed that Liyu was convicted of six counts of importing a scheduled species into Singapore without a valid permit.
One of the notable incidents occurred on May 7 when Liyu was apprehended at Tuas Checkpoint with a live Asian arowana hidden in a gunny sack placed in a tub of water in his vehicle’s trunk. Upon interrogation by Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers, Liyu confessed to having knowledge of the fish and his intent to import it into Singapore.
The NParks investigation uncovered that Liyu had a history of illegally importing arowanas on at least 10 other occasions, with the intention to deliver them to a recipient in Singapore. During his arrest, the officers seized the fish, the gunny sack, two mobile phones, and Liyu’s Malaysia-registered vehicle as case exhibits.
According to NParks, Asian arowanas are classified as a highly endangered species under Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), and their trade is strictly regulated to prevent extinction. NParks emphasized that the trade of these species for commercial purposes is prohibited unless accompanied by valid CITES permits.
As quoted by NParks, “Trade of these species for commercial purposes is generally prohibited unless the fish is bred in captivity in operations or farms that are registered with the CITES or used for non-commercial purposes, and such imports need to be accompanied (by) valid CITES permits.”
