| By Teo Wan Gek and Kimberley Lim | ||
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The monkeys are now a nuisance, even to park visitors who do not feed them. –ST PHOTO: LIM SIN THAI
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MONKEYS see, monkeys do. In fact, they do so like the snacks some park-goers throw at them that they stop looking for food in the jungle.
And they turn aggressive, snatching food from humans and invading kitchens of homes near their habitat.
The authorities have decided that enough is enough.
Last Tuesday, a housewife was fined $3,000 for feeding sweets to wild monkeys at a nature reserve in Mandai.
She could have been fined up to $50,000 and/or jailed for up to six months under the Parks and Trees Act.
Her offence, committed from a vehicle along Old Upper Thomson access road, took place on Feb 23 last year.
Some Singaporeans who read about the case were surprised at the penalties but the National Parks Board (NParks) explained its strict regulations prohibiting monkey-feeding.
The monkeys are now a nuisance, even to park visitors who do not feed them.
Ms Sharon Chan, assistant director of the Central Nature Reserve, said: ‘Left on their own, monkeys have sufficient food in the forest.
‘Feeding monkeys alters their natural behaviour, making them too familiar with humans. When subsequently denied food from humans, human-monkey conflict inevitably ensues.’
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