BUTTERWORTH: Two businessmen were jailed a day and fined RM100,000
each by the Sessions Court here for illegal possession of pangolins.
Ang
Kean Tat, 24, from Taman Melati off Jalan Raja Uda here, and Khor Kim
Seah, 41, from Kampung Selamat, Tasek Gelugor, paid the fines and served
the jail term at the lockup of the court complex.
Ang was fined RM100,000 whereas Khor, who faced two charges, was fined RM50,000 for each offence.
Ang
was on trial for possessing 45 pangolins without a special permit in a
modified vehicle at a premises in Mukim 16, Jalan Sungai Dua on Feb 24
last year.
Khor was charged with two counts of possessing 28
pangolins at the premises and 62 pangolins in a modified Proton Iswara
at the same place and time. They were charged under Section
28(2)(a) of the Wildlife Conservation Act, which carries a fine of
between RM50,000 and RM100,000 or a maximum jail term of three years, or
both upon conviction.
Deputy public prosecutor Nurdeenie Abdul
Rashid said possessing protected wildlife was a serious offence and
asked Sessions judge Ikmal Hishan Mohd Tajuddin to impose a sentence
that would serve as a lesson to others.
Defence counsel Sudesh
Singh, in mitigation, asked the court to be lenient towards the accused
and impose a fine and not a jail term. He said the accused were
first offenders and that Ang was living with his elderly mother and Khor
too had an elderly mother and family to look after.
Resource: The Star
