Evangeline Majawat The New Straits Times 18 Nov 10;
KUALA LUMPUR: The Wildlife and National Parks Department has collected more than RM300,000 in fines to date this year, almost triple the amount compared with two years ago.
The amount, too, is only from 22 court cases compared with 45 in 2008, when the department raked in about RM112,000.
The higher fines from fewer cases is believed to reflect justice meted out to those who had committed serious wildlife crimes.
"I won't say that they (wildlife criminals) are becoming more desperate (to commit more serious crimes).
"The data just shows that Perhilitan has become more effective in bringing criminals to book.
"It is imposing higher fines now, compared with previous years," Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Douglas Uggah Embas told the New Straits Times, yesterday.
He attributed the success to the joint efforts of various agencies, including the Customs Department, the army and police.
Perhilitan also recorded 2,511 minor offences this year, where the compounds collected amounted to RM135,000.
World Wide Fund for Nature Malaysia executive director Datuk Dr Dionysius Sharma saw the figures as a "good sign".
"The provisions in the laws are still the same.
"But, I think the judiciary has been made to understand the severity of these wildlife crimes.
"Therefore, I'm assuming they are dishing out higher penalties which are provided for under the law."
He said the "icing on the cake" for conservationists would be when the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010 came into force next month.
The pangolin remained the top protected species for smugglers, followed by the Bengal monitor lizard and pythons.
Perhilitan director-general Datuk Abdul Rasid Samsudin said these three animals had become favourites among smugglers as demand was high.
It was believed that the mammal and two reptiles had medicinal properties, although these have never been scientifically proven.
But illegal hunters here prefer wild boars, the white-breasted water hen and the jungle fowl for local consumption.
