An Indian-origin Malaysian man was sentenced to eight weeks in jail and fined SGD 2,500 in Singapore for smuggling a puppy in a laundry bag across the border. Caught at Tuas checkpoint in October 2023, he admitted to importing animals without a license and failing to ensure their welfare.
A Malaysian man of Indian origin has been sentenced to eight weeks in jail and fined SGD 2,500 for a bizarre case of animal smuggling—hiding a live puppy in a laundry bag and sneaking it across the border into Singapore. Mahentharan Ganesan, 43, was caught at the Tuas checkpoint on October 20, 2023, after Singapore’s Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers discovered the puppy concealed in a laundry bag tucked inside the spare tyre compartment of his vehicle.
He pleaded guilty to three charges: illegally importing an animal, and two counts of failing to ensure proper care of the animal. A fourth charge was taken into consideration during sentencing, according to Channel News Asia.
Court documents revealed a murky network behind the operation. Mahentharan, who owns a transport business in Malaysia, had borrowed money from an unidentified person. To repay the debt, he was offered a job smuggling animals into Singapore—something he initially resisted, knowing it was illegal. But desperate financial circumstances eventually pushed him into the trade.
The job was organised through a shadowy figure known only as “Mr Dog,” who coordinated assignments and instructed Mahentharan on how to carry them out. Typically, he would collect puppies or kittens from one contact in Malaysia and deliver them to unknown recipients in Singapore. The animals, often transported in laundry bags or boxes, appeared drowsy during transit, the court was told.
For each trip—regardless of the number of animals smuggled—Mahentharan was paid just SGD 60 in cash. He usually transported one to three animals at a time, though the exact number of completed trips remains unclear.
The identities of both “Mr Dog” and the person Mahentharan owed money to remain unknown. Authorities have also not determined the origin of the animals involved in the operation.
