Goh Chee Ling, 20, a private student, and her boyfriend, businessman Chan Yee Hua, 31, pleaded guilty to importing the six-month-old puppy without a licence last Friday.

A district court heard that the pair were checked when they arrived in a Johor-registered car at the green channel that night.

The dog was found in a beige handbag placed at the front of the passenger seat.

Neither Goh nor her boyfriend could produce any import document. They were referred to Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority for further investigation.

The court heard that Goh's friend had bought the puppy from a breeding farm in Klang and handed it to her at Chan's condominium in Petaling Jaya two days earlier.

Pressing for the maximum fine on Monday, AVA prosecutor Yap Teck Chuan said it was important to send a strong signal to potential offenders that the Government would take strong action against anyone who tried to smuggle animals in.

Dogs or cats imported here, except from Australia, New Zealand, Britain and Ireland, have to be vaccinated against rabies and later quarantined for a month on arrival.

This is to safeguard Singapore against the introduction of diseases, especially rabies. Singapore has been rabies-free since 1953.

Mr Yap said AVA had received feedback from the public that puppies from Malaysia had been smuggled into the country. Very often, such cases were hard to detect and animals could be brought in undetected.

The couple could have been jailed for up to 12 months on top of the maximum fine.