Anson Wong jailed 6 mths, fined RM190,000 for illegal snake export

SEPANG: The Sessions Court on Monday sentenced businessman Anson Wong to six months jail and fined him RM190,000 for illegally exporting 95 boa constrictor snakes. His jail sentence starts Monday.

When questioned by Judge Zulhelmy Hasan, Wong, 52, said he did not have an export permit because his customer had insisted on having the snakes before Hari Raya.

Defence counsel M.Sivam applied to the court for the return of Wong's laptop and handphone but the judge rejected the application.

Senior legal adviser for the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry, Faridz Gohim Abdullah told the court that the laptop contained information about alleged related illegal activities.

Some of the snakes that were brought to the court

Wong is believed to be an international wildlife trader.

On Wednesday, Anson Wong, whose real name is Wong Keng Liang, admitted to exporting 95 Boa Constrictor - which is endangered species - without permit at Kuala Lumpur International Airport at 8.50pm on Aug 26.

The snakes were found in a luggage bag while Wong was in transit from Penang to Jakarta.

The Star had reported in February that Wong had been linked to a Dec 15 seizure in the United States of various types of animals from an exotic animal outlet.

Two of the trader’s companies were found to have been supplying animals to the outlet.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) had claimed that CBS Wildlife and Sungai Rusa Wildlife, both owned by Wong, were supplying various types of animals and wildlife to US Global Exotics (USGE).

Wong pleaded guilty to trafficking in wildlife in the US and was sentenced to 71 months jail in 2000.

Sources : The Star Online: Nation.

Two pangolin smugglers held

GEORGE TOWN: Two men who specialised in smuggling pangolins were detained by the state Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) at a single-storey house in mainland Butterworth here early yesterday.

Also seized from the house at Jalan Raja Uda, which they had used as a distribution centre, were 67 rare pangolins.

Of the 67 pangolins confiscated, 41 were alive while 26 others were in the form of skinned and frozen carcasses.

The seized sunda pangolins (manis javanica), comprised mature and infant pangolins, weighing between 5kg and 11kg.

The mammals have a market value of about RM60,000. Their scales could fetch up to RM800 per kg.

The two men, who are in their 30s, were from Kedah and Johor.

Department director Noor Aliff Wira Osman said the raiding party had observed the premises for almost three weeks before moving in at 2.15am.

"The pangolins arrive through the rear door and exit through the front after the treatment process. Our initial investigation showed that the pangolins were transported from Johor to Penang by road," Noor Aliff said at the Perhilitan headquarters at Jalan Gurdwara.

He said the buyers bought pangolins for their skins, scales and meat.

A Proton Iswara with a Johor registration plate, believed to be used to transport the pangolins, was also seized.

Noor Aliff did not rule out the possibility the pangolins were smuggled from Indonesia.

It is believed that the syndicate had been operating for about two years.

Sunda pangolins are found in Southeast Asia's forests and in rubber and oil palm plantations.

Their parts are used for medicinal purposes.

Resource article: NST Online