Just like rice and noodles, chicken is a household staple for most families in Singapore — it’d be hard to imagine it missing from our dining table.
As we continue to rely on imports from neighbouring Malaysia, transport across the Strait is essential to ensure we get our supply.
Recently, heavy traffic jams have been reported at Tuas Checkpoint due to Covid-19 checks. This held up many poultry trucks entering from Johor, allegedly causing over 3,000 chickens’ death due to suffocation.
According to 8World News, some lorry drivers were stuck in the jam at Tuas Checkpoint for more than 10 hours on Wednesday (27 Jan).
Quoting The Poultry Merchant’s Association, the Chinese news site reported that 68 lorries carrying live poultry were affected.
17% of them were caught in the traffic jam at Tuas Checkpoint for more than 10 hours, causing about 3,500 live chickens suffocating to death, reports 8World News.
Their deaths were likely caused by unbearable heat and poor air circulation.
According to Lianhe Zaobao, some lorries entering via Tuas Checkpoint from Johor waited for up to 18 hours on 27 and 28 Jan.
The situation was reportedly worse on Thursday (28 Jan). Speaking to Lianhe Zaobao, some lorries started queuing up at the Second Link Bridge at around 9pm on Wednesday (27 Jan).
However, they only reached slaughterhouses in Singapore from 12pm the next day (28 Jan).
According to The Poultry Merchants Association, fresh poultry supply in Singapore supermarkets is unaffected despite the delays.
The Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) will also dispatch more manpower to administer Covid-19 tests at the checkpoints, reports 8World News, hopefully easing the jams.
The loss of poultry must have been an unpleasant experience for the companies involved.
We hope the processes at the customs would be expedited soon to prevent similar incidents from happening.
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Featured image adapted from 8World News.
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