LEE Sui Sea became the first bird smuggler to be jailed on fears of bird flu.

The 60-year-old businessman pleaded guilty on Friday to bringing in 32 Oriental White Eyes in April 2008 and another 33 in June 2008 from Tanjong Pinang.

He was jailed a total of four weeks as importation of birds from Indonesia is presently prohibited.

Up to this June, Indonesia had 135 confirmed cases of humans catching bird flu, of which 110 proved fatal.

AVA prosecutor Yap Teck Chuan asked for a deterrent sentence as this was the highest in the world.

A district court heard that officers from the Agri-Food Veterinary Services (AVA) ambushed Lee at the Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal on June 13, 2008 after receiving a tip-off.

The singing birds, also known as Mata Puteh, were packed in green nylon netting, and stuffed in the two front pockets of Lee's pants.

He then confessed to the earlier offence.

Previously, bird smugglers were merely fined.

In January 2007, a man was fined $7,000 for bringing in five Mata Puteh birds from Batam.