The Star 16 May 19;
PETALING JAYA: The Kuala Terengganu Sessions Court has meted out a whopping RM1.56mil fine on two Vietnamese nationals caught poaching, making it the biggest fine ever imposed for wildlife crime.
The two men, Hoang Van Viet, 29, and Nguyen Van Thiet, 26, were also sentenced to two years in jail after being convicted on 20 charges under the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010 for illegal possession of threatened and protected animal parts, including leopard, tapir and sun bear.
According to Traffic South-East Asia, the men pleaded guilty to charges under four sections of the law for illegal use of snares, illegal possession of totally protected species as well as protected species.
Judge Azman Mustapha also ruled that athe duo would be jailed a further 16 years if they failed to pay the fines.
Perhilitan arrested the two poachers on April 15 in Hulu Sungai Tersat in Taman Negara, Pahang and found them in possession of 141 individual parts of serow, leopard, tapir, sun bear, golden cat and wild boar, plus 22 snares.
Perhilitan believes the animal parts belong to at least two Malayan tigers, two clouded leopards, three sun bears and 12 wild boar.
The case was prosecuted by Mohd Khairul Mubin Ab Satar, Abd Aziz Mohd Yasin and Khadijah Mat Amin, from Perhilitan.
Traffic South-East Asia director Kanitha Krishnasamy said the judgement marked a victory for the Malaysian government.
"For the first time, fines exceeding RM1mil have been issued for wildlife crime.
"There is hope in creating a deterrent effect," Kanitha said.
He added that it was an early success of the recently launched Ops Belang operation aimed at increasing boots on the ground to curb poaching, particularly of the Malayan Tiger.
According to the Water, Land and Natural Resources Ministry, Malaysia has fewer than 200 wild tigers and the authorities have declared a war against poachers.
“It all begins with investing in enforcement and having boots on the ground. Imagine what we could do with more,” said Perhilitan director-general Datuk Abdul Kadir Abu Hashim said.
“This verdict gives us the drive to pursue wildlife criminals to the full extent of the law,” he added.
Traffic said this is the second case in recent months in which Vietnamese nationals were caught poaching and brought to trial.
In March, Tran Van Sang, who was caught in Perak in August 2017, was sentenced to a total of 19 years jail and fined RM850,000 after being found guilty of 10 charges under the Wildlife Conservation Act.
He was found to be in illegal possession of 273 wildlife parts including tiger, leopard, clouded leopard, sun bear and sambar deer.
Another Vietnamese, Ho Van Kien, was sentenced to six years in jail and RM400,000 in fines by the Raub Session Court after being found guilty of possession of one full tiger skin, a partial tiger skin, one leopard claw, and a sun bear claw, as well as 150g of tiger meat and 21.15 kg of wild boar meat.
Xavier hails highest fine slapped on two Vietnam poachers
New Straits Times 17 May 19;
KUALA LUMPUR: The RM1.56 million fine imposed on two Vietnamese poachers by the Kuala Terengganu Sessions Court on Wednesday was the highest ever fined issued for wildlife offences, said Water, Land and Natural Resources Ministry.
“The amount was the highest ever fine imposed involving wildlife offences in the nation’s history," said its Minister
Dr Xavier Jayakumar today.
The minister was referring to the case involving two illegal hunters, Vietnamese poachers Hoang Van Viet, 29 and Nguyen Van Thiet, 26, who were sentenced to two years jail, as well as being fined RM1.56 million.
The duo will also face another additional 16 years behind bars if they fail to pay the RM1.56 million fine.
The duo were sentenced after they pleaded guilty to 20 charges under Section 29 (1) (b) of the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010 for possession of snares, Section 68 (2) (c), Section 68 (1) (b) Section 60 (1) (b) of the same act for having in possession wildlife parts from fully protected species, namely that of desert goat, black panther, leopard, tapir, sun bear, wild cat and wild boar among others.
According to the charge, they allegedly used 22 snares and had in their possession various organs and parts of animals such as desert goat’s bile, black panther claws, leopard’s fangs and claws, Tapir bones, Sun Bear’s bile and bones as well as wild cat’s claws and fangs.
Xavier said the two Vietnamese illegal hunters were detained by the Wildlife Protection and National Parks (Perhilitan) special tactical team - Special Protected Area Response Team (Sparta).
He said the Sparta team tracked down the two Vietnamese illegal hunters under Ops Belang on April 19 in Taman Negara Terengganu.
“I and all the people of the Ministry of Water, Land and Natural Resources, in particular Perhilitan, welcomed the court's decision which has opened new hope in the ministry's efforts to combat crime against wildlife”.
Xavier also said the court’s decision on the case would also prove to be a catalyst for the ministry to intensify its efforts to combat wildlife crime as well as against those elements who seek to destroy Malaysia’s wildlife and natural resources, more so that which involves poaching of endangered Malaysian wildlife.
“The sentence imposed on the two Vietnam nationals is hoped would prove to be a bar against those who have a malicious intention to undermine wildlife for their own selfish ends.
“Illegal hunters are traitors to the nation and as such there is no place for them in Malaysia,” said Xavier.
'Time for stiffer laws against poachers'
Veena Babulal New Straits Times 18 May 19;
KUALA LUMPUR: Zoo Negara is urging the government to introduce the death penalty or life imprisonment for
those found guilty of poaching tigers.
Zoo Negara Malaysia Zoology, Veterinary & Giant Panda Conservation Centre director Dr Mat Naim Ramli said with just 200 tigers left in the wild, it was time to take harsher measures against poaching.
The government, he said, could take the lead from China, which has a zero-tolerance policy on the poaching of giant pandas.
Those found guilty of hunting giant pandas in that country faced 10 years’ imprisonment, or in extreme cases, life imprisonment or even the death sentence.
“The government can deploy the army to protect the critically endangered species, like in India and African countries, to curb trophy-hunting.”
Dr Mat Naim also urged the government to review the Tiger Action Plan and the Central Forest Spine, and follow up on workable initiatives with stakeholders.
Water, Land and Natural Resources Minister Dr A. Xavier Jayakumar had expressed concern that the animal might become extinct in less than 10 years.
He said the ministry was amending the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010 to imprison poachers for more than 10 years and fine them up to RM5 million upon conviction.
The amendment is expected to be tabled by year-end.
Wild animal poaching, especially tigers, is a longstanding problem for the authorities.
On Thursday, the Kuala Terengganu Sessions Court fined two Vietnamese nationals RM1.56 million for poaching.
Hoang Van Viet, 29, and Nguyen Van Thiet, 26, were also sentenced to two years’ jail after being convicted of 20 charges for illegal possession of threatened and protected animal parts.
NGOs: Impose heavier penalties on poachers
Hana Naz Harun, Nor Ain Mohamed Radhi New Straits Times 19 May 19;
KUALA LUMPUR: AS the country celebrates the birth of three Malayan tiger cubs recently, wildlife non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are urging for stronger measures to be adopted to save the critically endangered big cats.
The NGOs are calling on the government to impose heavier penalties on poachers, given that the number of Malayan tigers has dwindled to fewer than 200.
This suggestion came in the wake of Zoo Negara Malaysia’s proposal for poachers to be punished with the death penalty.
TRAFFIC, a wildlife trade monitoring network, said the high likelihood or certainty of getting caught and prosecuted would act as a greater deterrent than anything else.
Its Southeast Asia director, Kanitha Krishnasamy, said this was dependent on the authorities having enough enforcers and for the government to invest in its investigative and prosecutorial strength.
“(And) in light of the government’s effort of considering new punishments for poaching, the authorities should study the impact of existing penalties to ensure that existing legal instruments are being effectively used.
“The RM1.56 million fine and RM850,000 fine issued in the two most recent wildlife crime cases involving Vietnamese nationals are among only a handful of times the high fines in the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010 (WCA) have actually been issued.
“Also, when those convicted could pay such high fines (whether in bail or after sentencing), it should trigger further investigation, perhaps under the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001 (AMLATFA),” she said.
AMLATFA considers 23 sections of the Wildlife Conservation Act and five sections under the International Trade in Endangered Species Act as serious offences, including for illegal hunting, possession, import and export of wildlife.
However, Wildlife Conservation Society director (Malaysia programme) Melvin T. Gumal believes imposing the death penalty on poachers will not solve the problem.
“I would like a heavier penalty (imposed on tiger poachers) if the judges are willing to, but I don’t know if the death penalty could serve as a deterrent.
“I don’t see how useful it is given that we already impose the death penalty on drug-related cases and as we know, it doesn’t make much of a difference.
“Imprisonment, on the other hand, will help with our efforts to save this national icon of strength, beauty and courage.”
The Malayan tiger is a subspecies unique to the Malay Peninsula and one of the smallest tigers in the world.
In the 1950s, there were about 3,000 Malayan tigers in the country, but they are now on the brink of extinction.
In 2008, the government drew up the National Tiger Conservation Action Plan with the target of having up to 1,000 wild tigers in the country by 2020.
Unfortunately, Gumal said, the target was unachievable, given that 2020 was less than a year away.
“We can’t get that number because it is impossible for the tigers to breed that fast. You can’t have 17 children at a time and the same goes for tigers.
“But with continuous effort from all of us, we can reach that number in a few years. We should all do our part and not wait until it is too late.”
On Thursday, the Kuala Terengganu Sessions Court sentenced two Vietnamese to two years’ jail and fined them RM1.56 million for poaching.
Hoang Van Viet, 29, and Nguyen Van Thiet, 26, were sentenced after they pleaded guilty to 20 charges under the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010 for possession of traps and protected wildlife.
In March, another Vietnamese, Tran Van Sang, was sentenced to 19 years’ jail and fined RM850,000 after being
found guilty on 10 charges under the same law.
