Man fined for trying to sell endangered crocodile, keeping hedgehogs as pets

SINGAPORE — Thinking he had a customer ready to buy an endangered freshwater crocodile for S$1,000, Tan Chee Wei took the false gharial in a plastic bag to a Jurong West block of flats.

To his surprise, the “customer” turned out to be an undercover volunteer from animal welfare group Animal Concerns, Research and Education Society (Acres).

On Wednesday (March 11), Tan was ordered to pay a fine of S$9,600 in a district court. The 23-year-old pleaded guilty to two offences under the Endangered Species (Import and Export Act) and the Wild Animals and Birds Act.

Another two charges for illegally keeping hedgehogs as pets were taken into consideration for sentencing.

The court heard that Tan was nabbed on the evening of Dec 23 last year, after getting a S$500 deposit for the endangered crocodile. He was arrested by an investigation officer from the National Parks Board (NParks) when he handed the animal over to the volunteer for inspection.

Acres had given feedback to NParks two days earlier about the intended sale. The false gharial, which was about 72cm long, was seized and sent to the Singapore Zoo.

It is listed in Appendix I of Cites, a multilateral treaty to protect endangered wild plants and animals. This means that the species is threatened with extinction or affected by trade.

False gharials are native to peninsular Malaysia, Java and Sumatra in Indonesia, and Borneo.

During investigations, Tan also admitted that he had began a group chat on messaging application Telegram in September last year, where he advertised the sale of various animals such as Pacman frogs, hedgehogs, geckos and frozen mice on four occasions.

After the Acres volunteer transferred Tan the S$500 deposit, he used the money to get the false gharial from a supplier across the Causeway in Johor Baru.

When NParks officers inspected his flat in Jurong West, they discovered that he was also keeping three hedgehogs in plastic containers in his living room. He admitted to having them for about a year.

Two of the hedgehogs Tan had illegally kept as pets. Photo: NParks

NParks prosecutors sought a S$10,000 fine, while Tan’s lawyers — Mr Josephus Tan and Mr Cory Wong from Invictus Law Corporation — asked for a lower fine of S$7,600.

The prosecution said that adult false gharials can grow up to 5m long and cannot be kept in a tank, which means buyers will eventually consider setting them free in suitable environments such as reservoirs and nature reserves.

Such animals that are used to human contact may seek out humans and potentially harm them as well, the prosecution added.

Mr Tan told the court that his client has paid S$4,000 in compensation to the Singapore Zoo and Acres personnel. Tan was also diagnosed with major depressive disorder while serving his National Service.

For offering to sell an endangered species, he could have been fined up to S$50,000, jailed up to two years, or both.

For keeping a wild animal, he could have been fined up to S$1,000.