A Singapore court has imposed a fine of about 3,200 Singapore dollars (Rs 2.27 lakh) on a 71-year-old Indian-origin woman for feeding pigeons. The woman had fed pigeons nine times in about 6 months. In Singapore, it is prohibited to feed wild animals or birds without written permission. For doing so, a fine of up to 10,000 Singapore dollars can be imposed under the Wildlife Act.

The woman's name is Sanmugamanathan Shamla. She is a Singapore citizen and lives in Toa Payoh area, one of the oldest housing colonies in Singapore. On Wednesday she appeared in court and pleaded guilty in four cases. Five other similar cases were taken into consideration by the court while deciding the sentence.

promised not to do it again

According to the report, Shamla has already been caught for feeding wild birds. Last time she had promised the court that she would not do this again, but she broke her promise. ₹1,200 for illegally feeding wild birds near his flat in Shamla in May 2025, the court was told. Singapore A dollar fine was imposed.

At that time he had also obstructed the pigeon catching operation of the National Parks Board (NParks). NParks' lawyer told the court that Shamla was well aware that feeding wild birds was against the law. Despite this, he fed pigeons nine times between July 2025 and January 2026.

Shamla appeared without a lawyer

The lawyer said that his repeated promises have proved useless. Therefore only strict financial punishment can stop them. A fine of 800 to 1,000 Singapore dollars was demanded in each case. Shamla appeared in the court without any lawyer. He said that he is unemployed and does not have any medical insurance.

He requested the court to keep the fine amount between 1,000 to 2,000 Singapore dollars. She also said that she can fulfill the remaining amount by doing community service. However, the court did not accept his argument and imposed a total fine of 3,200 Singapore dollars. After hearing the final decision, Shamla said that she would pay the entire fine on the same day.