4 weeks' jail for man found with illegal wildlife -- after he was unable to pay $6,600 fine

A 28-year-old man was fined $6,600 for three charges of possession of illegal wildlife and abetting the sale of illegal wildlife, but was unable to pay the fine.

As such, Aaron Hosea Albert will be serving the default jail sentence of four weeks and three days instead, said the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA).

In a media release, AVA said it was alerted to a case of alleged online sale of illegal wildlife earlier in January this year.

Following investigations, a stint operation was conducted on Feb 9, during which two red-footed tortoises and a hedgehog were seized.

The animals were subsequently placed under the care of Wildlife Reserves Singapore.

During questioning, Albert denied being the seller of the animals and only admitted to being commissioned by an online seller to deliver the animals.

After investigations by AVA, it was concluded that the animals had been imported illegally, but there was no evidence or leads on the seller.