A Thai national has yet to learn her lesson in importing food products from overseas without a proper license. A few months after she was fined for illegally importing a whopping 67kg of assorted meat into Singapore, Kanokporn Junsricha received a heavier fine yesterday for the same offence — this time, it was all about dried frogs.
The 39-year-old was fined S$10,000 in court yesterday for illegally importing 10kg of dried frogs from Thailand, according to the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority (AVA). On the morning of Dec 9, the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) detected illegal food products being transported in a Thai-registered pickup truck at Woodlands Checkpoint — Kanokporn had attempted to bring dried frogs from Thailand for sale in Singapore.
It was not stated how the dried frogs would be sold off or why anyone would even want them, but we suppose it had something to do with Hasma — the dried fatty tissue found near the fallopian tubes of frogs. It’s an ingredient used in Traditional Chinese Medicine and tong sui, usually to treat respiratory symptoms and apparently improve the look of the skin.
“Meat and meat products, including frog meat, can only be imported from accredited sources in approved countries that comply with our food safety standards and requirements,” asserted the AVA, who will be destroying the illegally-imported products.
In court, the unrepresented Kanokporn pleaded for leniency, stating that she needs to conduct business in Singapore to support her family and promising to get a license from AVA in the future, The New Paper reported.
Since it was her second conviction for the offence, Kanokporn could have been slapped with a maximum fine of S$100,000 and/or three years in jail.
