Four poachers caught in Sarawak national park

Sulok Tawie, New Straits Times 30 Dec 09;

MIRI: Enforcement officers from the Sarawak Forestry Corporation have detained four men for alleged poaching and hunting at Lambir Hills National Park near here yesterday.
The suspects, three Malaysians and an Indonesian, were handed to the police for further investigations.

SFC chief executive officer Datuk Len Talif Salleh said the officers also seized a homemade shotgun and three parang from the suspects.

None of the men had a licence to own the shotgun.

Len said no carcasses of animals were found in their possession.

He said hunting in the national park was prohibited as it was a totally protected area.

"It is a complex and diverse forest eco-system, with an area of 6,952ha, and experts believe there is a high level of plant bio-diversity.

"There are 237 different species of birds, the flying squirrels, wild pigs, gibbons, many types of monkeys, various species of deer, and untold insects and other invertebrates at the park."

He said the arrest of the four men came about following a public tip-off.