Siribun Pte Ltd (Siribun), a licensed food importer, was fined $7,500 by the court today for illegally importing meat, seafood and processed food for sale. Its director, Aseethimang Siriwan, was also fined $7,500 for failing to prevent the offence from being committed.

2.          On 14 October 2022, Singapore Food Agency (SFA) and the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) conducted a targeted operation on a Malaysia-registered container which entered Singapore through Tuas Checkpoint.

3.          SFA raided the container when it was being unloaded in Tampines and found that the company has illegally imported over 810kg of meat and seafood products, along with approximately 4kg of processed food. The illegal food items were falsely declared as imported fresh vegetables and other food products in the cargo permits. All illegal consignments were seized.

Illegally imported meat and seafood products seized by SFA (Photo: SFA)

4.          In Singapore, food imports must meet SFA’s requirements. Illegally imported food products of unknown sources can pose a food safety risk. 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 requirements.

5.          Offenders who import meat and seafood products illegally without a valid import permit shall be liable on conviction to a fine of not exceeding $10,000 and/or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months. In the case of a subsequent conviction, offenders shall be liable to a fine not exceeding $20,000 and/or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years.

6.          Safeguarding Singapore’s borders remains ICA’s top priority. ICA will continue to conduct security checks to detect and deter illegal importation attempts to keep Singapore safe. SFA will continue to safeguard food safety through our integrated food safety system, which includes strict import regulations and enforcement, and work closely with border control agencies to deter illegal import across our borders.

IMMIGRATION & CHECKPOINTS AUTHORITY
SINGAPORE FOOD AGENCY
14 AUGUST 2023