A 29-year-old Vietnamese woman was fined S$6,000 (US$4,330) on Monday for illegally importing 330 embryonated quail eggs, a Filipino delicacy known as balut, into Singapore.
On October 17, Tran Thi Bao Trang was intercepted by officers of the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority during a random inspection at Changi Airport. She was found to have a box filled with quail eggs that had traveled as checked luggage, the Lianhe Wanbao (Singapore) reported.
The case was referred to the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority, which confirmed that the 330 eggs, which weighed 3.3 kilograms in total, all contained developing quail embryos.
Tran was arrested for attempting to import quail eggs from non-approved sources, a violation of the Wholesome Meat and Fish Act. She was fined S$6,000 at a Singapore court on October 29.
Singapore’s Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority advises travelers against bringing food products into Singapore without a proper licence.
Read: Woman fined for smuggling 490 duck eggs into Singapore
balut is not made from quail eggs. Please fact check.