SINGAPORE — A 48-year-old Singaporean was charged in court on Wednesday (Aug 19) with keeping four tarantulas in a Housing and Development Board flat along Punggol Place in 2018.

Two of the hairy spider species, a Mexican red rump and a Mexican golden rump, are endangered and protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna or Flora (Cites).

The other two — a Greenbottle blue tarantula, which is native to Venezuela, and a Brazilian black tarantula — are listed as wild animals under Singapore’s Wild Animals and Birds Act.

Andrew Chan Joo Seong is also accused of illegally importing eight other spiders through registered parcels. 

The parcels were seized at the parcel post section at the Singapore Post Centre around Sept 19, 2018. One of them contained two Mexican fireleg tarantulas, which are also protected under Cites.

Court documents did not state how the parcels got the attention of the authorities and were seized.

Chan, who faces 11 charges under the Endangered Species (Import and Export) Act as well as the Wild Animals and Birds Act, told the court that he intends to plead guilty.

He will return to court on Sept 16.

If convicted of possessing or importing a scheduled animal species, Chan could be fined up to S$50,000 for each species, jailed up to two years, or both. The aggregate fine cannot exceed S$500,000.

If convicted of illegally keeping or importing wild animals, he could be fined up to S$1,000 for each animal.

Besides Chan, another man was hauled to court earlier this year for similarly keeping and importing the spiders. 

Herman Foo Yong He was fined S$17,000 in March, after pleading guilty to keeping 20 tarantulas in his Bedok flat and importing another 23 through registered parcels. 

The 24-year-old university student had also kept a hedgehog, three leopard geckos and one fat-tailed gecko.