Apriadi Gunawan The Jakarta Post 14 Dec 17;
Prosecutors asked a panel of judges at the Medan District Court to sentence Ismail Sembiring, a trader of Sumatran tiger skins and organs, to three years in prison during a hearing on Tuesday.
They also demanded that the judges order the defendant, a resident of Sumber Waras village in Langkat regency, North Sumatra, to pay Rp 100 billion (US$7.36 million) or face an additional six months in prison.
Prosecutor Sani Sianturi said that, by trading the tiger skins and organs, the defendant had violated articles 40 and 21 of Law No. 5/1990 on the conservation of natural resources and the ecosystem.
Presiding judge Riana Pohan allowed the defendant to convey his defense statement. “I [have] regrets, your honor. I admit that I have committed the crime and, here, in my defense statement, I ask for a lighter sentence,” Ismail said in the hearing.
The judges delayed the hearing to Jan. 4, during which they will read out their ruling after examining the defendant’s plea.
Mount Leuser National Park patrol force personnel arrested Ismail, a palm fruit harvester, on Aug. 27. They conducted an undercover operation during which they acted as the buyer of dried tiger skin on sale from the defendant. They also confiscated one dead Sumatran tiger as evidence during the raid. (ami/ebf)
Tiger skin trader sentenced to 2 years in prison
Apriadi Gunawan The Jakarta Post 5 Jan 18;
The Medan District Court sentenced Ismail Sembiring, a trader of Sumatran tiger skins and organs, to two years in prison after declaring him guilty of endangered wildlife trade on Thursday.
Presiding judge Riana Pohan said Ismail had violated the law on the conservation of natural resources and the ecosystem.
"The court also orders the defendant to pay Rp 100 million (US$7,500) in fines or serve an additional three months' imprisonment,” Riana read out in the verdict.
Ismail, a resident of Batang Serangan district in North Sumatra's Langkat regency, was caught red-handed selling a dried tiger skin to an undercover Mount Leuser National Park patrol force officer in August 2017.
Authorities also confiscated one dead Sumatran tiger as evidence during the operation.
The Thursday verdict, however, fell short of prosecutors' demand of three years' imprisonment and Rp 100 billion in fines. (vla/ipa)
