S'porean man, 43, smuggles puppy in laundry bag from M'sia to pay off debts, abandons another dog while on bail

A Singaporean man agreed to smuggle animals from Malaysia to Singapore with his vehicle to pay off his debts, even though he knew that doing so was illegal.

While making a delivery on Oct. 20, 2023, the 43-year-old man, Mahentharan Ganesan, was stopped by Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers for an inspection at Tuas Checkpoint.

He was subsequently found to have concealed a labrador rRetriever puppy in a laundry bag hidden in the spare tyre compartment of his vehicle.

Even though after Mahentharan was referred to the National Parks Board (NParks) for investigations and released on bail, he took up another job of sending three puppies for grooming and boarding in exchange for S$150.

However, when he failed to deliver one of the puppies, a brown daschund, he resorted to abandoning it at the void deck of his public housing block on Dec. 11, 2024.

Mahentharan's offence came to light after a member of the public who happened to witness his abandonment act reported it to the police and NParks.

On Apr. 15, 2025, Mahentharan, was jailed and fined after admitting to his offences.

Agreed to deliver animals to repay debts

According to court documents seen by Mothership, Mahentharan owned a transportation company in Malaysia.

Some time ago, he borrowed some money from an unknown Chinese male, who Mahentharan claimed was a client of his company.

At one point, the Chinese male offered Mahentharan a job to repay his debt by bringing animals from Malaysia to Singapore illegally with his vehicle.

Although Mahentharan initially rejected the offer, as he knew such an act violated the law, he eventually agreed to do so within Singapore due to his financial predicament.

Delivered animals in laundry bags, boxes within Singapore

After getting Mahentharan onboard, the Chinese male introduced him to another unknown male, known as "Mr Dog", who informed Mahentharan of his job assignments and instructed him on the process.

The modus operandi involved Mahentharan collecting the animals, which usually ranged between one and three individuals, from another party.

The animals would sometimes be put in laundry bags or boxes and appeared to be sleepy.

Thereafter, Mr Dog would inform Mahentharan of the delivery location in Singapore.

For each trip, Mahentharan was paid S$60 in cash from the recipient, regardless of the number of animals delivered.

Mahentharan claimed that there was no regular location where he would meet to collect the animals, and the people who delivered the animals to him would also be different at times.

Court documents stated that it was unclear how many such assignments Mahentharan had completed within Singapore.

Agreed to smuggle puppy from Malaysia

At one point, Mr Dog offered Mahentharan S$500 to transport a puppy from Malaysia to Singapore, to which Mahentharan agreed allegedly because there was only one animal involved.

Mahentharan subsequently did the delivery about three to four weeks before Oct. 20, 2023, when ICA officers caught him at Tuas Checkpoint.

He later admitted that the delivery he was making that day was the second time he had done so, and he was set to receive a payment of S$300 upon successful completion.

Puppy smuggled 'experienced pain, suffering': NParks veterinarian

Court documents revealed that Mr Dog had informed Mahentharan that the puppy he smuggled on Oct. 20, 2023 was sedated.

However, when he was stopped by an ICA officer, Mahentharan lied that he had nothing to declare and that the laundry bag contained laundry.

After the puppy was found, it was sent to NPark's Animal and Veterinary Service (AVS) for microchipping, physical examinations, and quarantine.

In the puppy's Animal Health and Welfare Assessment Report, a veterinarian opined that it had "experienced pain and suffering" as it was transported in cramped conditions.

Additionally, the puppy was also diagnosed with canine parvovirus, which may lead to rapid dehydration, sepsis, and ultimately death.

Abandoned puppy after failed delivery

While Mahentharan was released on bail on Nov. 6, 2024, he took up a delivery job from a person named "Michael", whom he met on Telegram.

At about 1pm on Dec. 11, 2024, Michael made arrangements with Mahentharan to pick up three puppies and paid him S$150 for the delivery.

However, after delivering two of the puppies, Mahentharan failed to deliver the last one.

As his family was not aware of the animal delivery jobs he was carrying out, Mahentharan decided to abandon the puppy at his public housing block at around 4pm on Dec. 11, 2024.

Upon being alerted to his deeds, AVS recovered the abandoned puppy and found that there was no microchip in it.

The source of the puppy was also unknown, and the Telegram messages between Mahentharan and Michael had been auto-deleted.

Jailed & fined

On Apr. 15, 2025, Mahentharan was sentenced to eight weeks' imprisonment and handed a S$2,500 fine after pleading guilty to one count of importing an animal without a licence and two counts of breaching his duty of care as an animal owner.

Another charge was taken into consideration for his sentencing, reported CNA.

The identities of Mr Dog and the Chinese male whom Mahentharan owes money, remain unknown to date, as Mahentharan did not know their real names or where the animals originated from.

Top images via court documents