A 71-year-old Singaporean woman has been fined for feeding wild pigeons.
According to an international news agency, the woman, identified as Sanmugamnathan Shamla, was ordered to pay a fine of 3,200 Singapore dollars (approximately 704,129 Pakistani rupees) for violating the Wildlife Act.
She pleaded guilty to four charges under the Wildlife Act, while the court also considered five additional similar incidents. This was not the first time the woman faced legal action for the same habit.
Earlier, in May 2025, she was fined 1,200 Singapore dollars for the same offence and for intervening in a bird-catching operation.
At that time, she assured the court that she would not repeat the act. However, she returned to her old habit just one month later. Prosecution evidence presented in court showed that between July 2025 and January 2026, the woman fed pigeons grains and bread on at least nine occasions.
Video footage shown in court captured her among a flock of pigeons near her residence in the Toa Payoh area of Singapore’s Central Region. The court was told that she had met her constituency’s Member of Parliament and expressed remorse, but she was again seen feeding birds only three days later.
The prosecution described her behaviour as persistent violation of the law and argued that an effective penalty was necessary. The woman told the court that she was unemployed and did not have medical insurance.
She requested a reduced fine and offered community service instead, but after the judge imposed a fine of 3,200 dollars, she agreed to pay the full amount immediately. Media reports indicate that, as a repeat offender, she could have faced a maximum fine of 10,000 Singapore dollars for each charge.
