Tan Sin Chow The Star 6 Oct 10;
GEORGE TOWN: The state Wildlife and National Parks Department will seize all wildlife under the care of convicted wildlife smuggler Anson Wong and his wife.
Its director Jamalun Nasir Ibrahim said all permits and business licences issued to Wong and his wife Cheah Bing Shee had been revoked.
He added that all wildlife species in their possession under existing and expired licences and permits would also be seized.
“The permits revoked include the special one issued that allowed Wong to keep two Bengal tigers and a crocodile,” he said here yesterday.
It was reported that the two endangered Bengal tigers, allegedly belonging to Wong, were previously kept at the Bukit Jambul Hibiscus, Orchids and Reptile Farm but have been moved to a private location in Teluk Bahang.
It is learnt that the department is waiting for clearance from headquarters before it launches a special operation to seize the animals.
“These animals are still being kept at a farm in Teluk Bahang. Our headquarters is looking for a suitable location to keep them after the seizure,” he said in an interview at his office in Komtar here on Monday.
Wong was arrested at the KL International Airport on Aug 28 for trying to smuggle out 95 boa constrictors, two rhinoceros vipers and a Mata Mata turtle without a permit from Penang to Jakarta.
On his new post, Jamalun said he knew he was in a hot seat and had a tough task ahead, especially after the Anson Wong incident.
Jamalun, who took over from Noor Alif Wira Osman, who has been transferred to the headquarters effective Sept 30, said he would find ways to improve any shortcomings in existing application procedures.
“I will also monitor the application of wildlife shipments, for import or export, personally,” he added.
Jamalun, who served as the state department’s deputy director from 1991 to 1994, felt it was unfair for the department to take the blame for the smuggling incident.
He said this was because Wong had not declared his shipments before his arrest at the KLIA.
