Thinking of buying back bak kwa to S'pore? You might be breaking the law

Chinese New Year (CNY) is just around the corner, and most of you would be thinking of buying back snacks from your overseas trips for the festive period.

Hold that thought. Depending on what you buy, you might just be breaking the law.

Take bak kwa for example. The pork dish is a favourite among Singaporeans, especially for CNY.

But did you know that it is also on the list of items travellers are barred from bringing into Singapore, as pointed out by Roads.sg?

A post on the Roads.sg page detailed:

"The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) and the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA) issued a joint advisory reminding travellers to check the guidelines on the importation of items.

"Bak kwa is considered a pork product and can be imported only from approved regions including Australia, Japan, United States and a number of European countries.

"Pork from Malaysia, and all other South-east Asian countries, is not allowed even for personal consumption."

So before you purchase snacks or delicacies from overseas to bring into Singapore, read the full list of prohibited items on the AVA website.