Vietnamese woman pays heavy price for carrying quail embryos into Singapore

Tran Thi Bao Trang, 29, was held at Changi Airport on October 17 after officers from the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority found the eggs in plastic egg trays in her checked-in baggage, the Strait Times newspaper reported.

They referred the case to the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA), which found that the 330 eggs contained quail embryos.

The court found Trang guilty of violating the Wholesome Meat and Fish Act by importing quail eggs from non-approved sources.

It carries a fine of up to S$50,000 and imprisonment of up to two years. Repeat offenders could be fined S$100,000 and jailed for three years.

The AVA said food imports into Singapore are regulated for safety and keeping out diseases like bird flu.

Travelers to Singapore are reminded not to bring any unlicensed meat products into the country, both the AVA and ICA said.

The AVA’s official website and its SG TravelKaki mobile app list the kinds of meat products allowed into the country.

Quail eggs are a popular street food delicacy in Southeast Asia. In Vietnam, boiled quail eggs, or “trung cut”, are sold on street stalls as inexpensive beer snacks.

Last month, Le Thi Ung, 63, was slapped with a fine of S$7,000 ($5,084) for smuggling 490 duck eggs with fetuses into Singapore.