Man fined $15,000 for illegally importing over 180kg of meat and seafood products from China

A man, Man Wee Kong, was fined $15,000 for illegally importing meat and seafood products from China, the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) said in a statement.

On Aug 10, Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers at the Pasir Panjang Scanning Station detected anomalies in the scanned images of a cargo contained declared to contain assorted items.

Physical checks on the cargo revealed consignments of 'meat and seafood products' imported from China, without a valid import permit.

The case was then referred to the SFA for investigation.

On Aug 16, SFA officers conducted an inspection at a warehouse located at 21 Pandan Avenue where the food items were stored and discovered more than 180kg of meat and seafood products illegally imported from China.

The illegal food items were seized.

In Singapore, food imports must meet SFA's requirements.

"Illegally imported food products of unknown sources can pose a food safety risk," SFA said.

"Food can only be imported by licensed importers, and every consignment must be declared and accompanied with a valid import permit.

"In addition, meat and its products can only be imported from accredited sources in approved countries that comply with our food safety standards and requirements."

Offenders who import meat and fish products illegally from unapproved sources, or are found to be in possession of such products for the purpose of selling can be fined up to $50,000, jailed up to two years, or both.

Repeat offenders can be fined up to $100,000, jailed up to three years, or both.