Malaysia: 109 pangolins rescued from house in Bukit Kayu Hitam

Saved from being sautéed
ZULIATY ZULKIFLY New Straits Times 30 Dec 16;

BUKIT KAYU HITAM: The Malaysian Border Security Agency (Aksem) rescued 109 pangolins from ending up as exotic dishes after raiding a house at Kampung Kubang Airang, Titi Kerbau here today.

Kedah Aksem commander Abdul Latif Abdul Rahman said his men, acting on a public tip-off, raided the house and found a canopy covered by black canvas on the grounds.

He said upon inspection, the team found a stash of gunny sacks containing 109 pangolins, with a total weight of 65kg, and worth about RM196,000 on the black market.

"Following the seizure, we arrested a 49-year-old local man to facilitate the investigation.

"We are not ruling out the possibility that the pangolins were about to be smuggled to a neighbouring country due to a high demand for exotic food," he told reporters at Aksem Bukit Kayu Hitam headquarters.

Pangolins are a protected species under the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010 (Act 716) and the case has been handed over to the Wildlife and National Parks Department for further action


109 pangolins rescued from cooking pot
The Star 31 Dec 16;

BUKIT KAYU HITAM: Over 100 pangolins bound for the cooking pot in Thailand were rescued by the Border Security Agency (Aksem) from a village house near here.

Most of the 109 pangolins, comprising both adults and young ones, were alive when they were seized at noon yesterday from a house in Kampung Kubang Airang, Titi Kerbau in Changlun.

They were found in sacks which were covered in nets inside a shed beside the house.

Only a few small ones, weighing about 1kg each, were dead. The adults weigh about 6kg each.

Kedah Aksem Commander Abdul Latif Abd Rahman said the animals, worth a total of RM196,200, were to be served as an exotic dish after being smuggled out of the country.

He said the raiding party arrested the house owner in the vicinity of the building, adding that the 49-year-old suspect admitted to keeping the animals while they were on transit from Penang to Thailand.

He said the suspect told the raiding party that the pangolins will be picked up by Thai nationals to be smuggled into Thailand where they could fetch up to RM300 per kilo.

Abdul Latif said the pangolins would be handed over to the Wildlife Department for further action, adding that the offence came under Section 68 of the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010 which carries a maximum fine of RM100,000 and five-year jail term.


Man fined RM120,000 for possession of live pangolins
G.C. TAN The Star 5 Jan 17;

ALOR SETAR: A man was fined RM120,000 after he pleaded guilty to four charges of possession of and cruelty to 109 live pangolins.

Sessions Court judge Zanol Rashid Hussian also ordered the accused Manshor Hat, 49, to be jailed for a year if he fails to pay the fine.

The charges were framed under various sections of the Wildlife Conservation Act (Act 716).

The accused, who is an odd-job worker, a padi farmer and also a rubber tapper, was found keeping 109 live pangolins in sacks and covered in nets in a shed beside his house in Titi Kerbau, Changlun, at about noon on Dec 30.

Manshor, who was unrepresented, failed to pay the fine.

State Wildlife Department DPP Nur Ainaa Ridzwan prosecuted the case.

The Star reported on Dec 31 that the more than 100 pangolins bound for cooking pots in Thailand were rescued by Bukit Kayu Hitam Border Security Agency officers from a shed beside a house in Changlun.

The pangolins, weighing about 1kg to 6kg each and worth a total of RM196,200, were to be picked up by Thai nationals to be smuggled into Thailand where they could fetch up to RM300 per kilo.