Mycat: Most wildlife culprits in Malaysia roaming free

The Star 17 Feb 10;

PETALING JAYA: A conservation group wants the Attorney-General’s Chambers to treat cases of cruelty to wildlife with importance and urgency.

The Malaysian Conservation Alliance for Tigers (Mycat) noted that perpetrators of previous cases involving cruelty to animal had walked away free after paying paltry fines.

“This includes a man who was found guilty of illegal possession of a dead tiger five years ago. The tiger had been butchered and stored in his freezer,” said Mycat programme coordinator Loretta Shepherd.

“For that offence, he paid a fine of RM7,000 and walked out a free man.

“Compare this to the case involving the theft of 11 cans of Tiger beer and Guinness Stout worth RM70 in January this year, where a man was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment.

“Clearly our values are misplaced.”

Seven orang asli are currently being investigated for brutally killing a male tiger in the Bukit Tapah Forest Reserve in Perak two weeks ago.

While the incident has angered many Malaysians, Shepherd voiced concerns that they too might only receive a slap on the wrist.

The Protection of Wild Life Act 1972 provides for a maximum sentence of five years’ jail and a RM15,000 fine for killing a tiger.