A woman picked up a Subway sandwich in the Singapore airport before her flight to Perth, Australia. She only ate half of it – and for some reason brought the leftovers with her. Perhaps she wanted to find out first hand just how sick an unrefrigerated fast food sandwich will make you after a five hour flight.
She failed to declare the remains of her foot long at customs when she arrived back in Australia, and was fined ~ US$1750.
In a video posted to social media, the woman acknowledges her mistake. She had taken a flight back from Europe and was connecting. And she wasn’t thinking clearly when she claimed not to be bringing any food into the country. She offered that the thought “the little declaration thing you do is for your carry-ons and your luggage” so she “didn’t tick chicken” and she “didn’t tick lettuce” on the agriculture disclosure.
But she’s tight on cash – she quit her job before her trip abroad, and the fine and her rent are both due at about the same time. The Aussies take agriculture declarations seriously. And occasionally bureaucrats on power trips apply rules formulaically rather than applying reason to the circumstance. A subway sandwich from the Singapore airport is probably safer than much of what’s already in the country.
Indeed, customs officers acknowledged discretion which she says they were choosing not to extend to her, offering that foreigners often don’t get fined because of the “language barrier” while she was facing full enforcement because she “speak[s] perfect English.”
@_jessicaleeee Australian government tings 🥰🥰 starting that OF back up again to SURVIVE the next few months #fyp #australia #subway #boujee ♬ original sound – Jessica Lee
Here’s her Instagram where she appears to specialize in posting photos of herself wearing very little clothing (yet has surprisingly few followers).
In 2018 a woman was fined $500 and lost her global entry after taking an apple off of a Delta flight and failing to declare it. Though she got the fine waived and global entry restored after contacting her congressional representative’s office.
No, $175 is not a serious deterrent to bringing in a sandwich or other agriculture item. $1750 is. Ask yourself, is a $175 speeding ticket a deterrent to you going over the limit? Or is it a mere inconvenience? How closely would you be watching your speed if there was no tolerance for going over the limit, and a $1750 fine every time they caught you. And they’re watching you constantly, so there’s a high chance you’d get caught. You’d be damn sure not to speed if you’re the average person. They really don’t want to catch you, they want you to follow the rules and they want you to police yourself – they do that by making the penalties so punitive, you do pay attention to them and take them seriously. It’s just human nature – you want to avoid pain, including financial pain. but it has to be at a high enough level that you just don’t brush it off.
@ Boraxo
“Would expect No less from the same country that locked down the population for months, beat protestors in the streets, and refused to allow citizens to enter or leave the country.”
Here you are still circulating the same right wing “dumb American” BS like a crazy lobotimized parrot. Your delusions have been repeatedly refuted with facts on this and other blogs. Grow up, mate.
“I used to like Australia but it lacks any check on the government”
Hmmm…it’s the USA that lacks any check on government for the arriving traveller (under the visa waiver system) by stripping them of their legal rights when they apply for their visa waiver.
It’s also the USA who spies on its own citizens both per the provisions of the USA/Patriot Act and (allegedly) extensively outside of its legal power (“Prism” and more recent allegations).
MAGBA – Make America Great Britain Again!
UPDATE
All Bali flights just cancelled because or risk of spreading foot and mouth disease…..
@ Platy
Read carefully. I was under the weight to be declared and had been pre-inspected.
@ Jack the Lad
Are you claiming that
(1) the Australian government had quarantine inspection in DPS??? (never heard of such, but who knows)
(2) you declared your plant material on your arrival quarantine form??? (you confused tobacco limits with plant material)
(3) that your could tell them difference between the amount of duty free tobacco and quarantine inspections??? (you are a dumbo)
@ Jack the lad
my posts under moderation
Australia has amongst the worst bureaucrats and government functionaries in the world, and this is just a small example of their unrestrained power and desire to constantly flex their muscles – which was writ large during Covid.
Even the authoritarian “Homeland Security” officers in the USA exercise their power in a more restrained way.