SINGAPORE - A technician who received and kept a green-winged macaw handed to him by a friend, even though he knew the bird had been stolen, was fined $6,000 on Monday by a district court.

Abdul Muthalib Abdul Rahim, 24, pleaded guilty to keeping the bird, which was worth $4,300, and had been swiped from a bird sanctuary.

The court heard that between the evening of Nov 26 and morning of Nov 27 last year, Abdul Muthalib sat in Mohammed Ali's car as the 31-year-old allegedly broke into Mandai Birds Sanctuary off Mandai Road and grabbed four birds, including the macaw. Mohammed returned with the birds in a sack, and told Abdul Muthalib they had been given to him. But Mohammed admitted he had stolen the birds, worth $6,030, when pressed by Abdul Muthalib, and the avid bird collector agreed to look after the macaw.Abdul Muthalib could have been jailed for up to five years and fined. A pre-trial conference has been fixed for Mohammed's case.