A YOUNG man paid a high price for a souvenir pair of handcuffs he bought overseas.

Joshua Teo Guan Wei, 20, was fined $700 on Wednesday after he admitted to importing the controlled item at Changi Airport on March 16.

A court heard that he had bought the pair of handcuffs for about $5 while on a three-day holiday in Bangkok, Thailand.

On arrival at the airport, the handcuffs were detected by an Aetos security screening officer in his luggage.

He could have been fined up to $100,000 or three times the value of the goods, whichever is greater, or up to two years' jail or both.