Retrial Ordered For Case of Tiger In Refrigerator

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CATT [CATT]

Friday, June 30, 2006 3:53 AM

CATT

CATT Alert# 33: Retrial Ordered For Case of Tiger In

Refrigerator

 

 

June 29, 2006

 

 

Dear CATT Subscriber,

 

A High Court judge in Malaysia has ordered a retrial for the

22-year-old Malaysian-Thai man who pleaded guilty to illegal possession

of endangered wildlife last October after authorities found a tiger in

his refrigerator.

 

" I sincerely did not know the butchered parts of the tiger were

stored in the family refrigerator, " Ang Chun Tan told a judge today,

according to The Star newspaper.

 

Ang pleaded guilty in October after forest rangers, acting on a tip

from villagers, raided his home and found a tiger, cut in four parts, in

his refrigerator. News reports said the tiger had been shot two days

before and that investigators believed Ang had planned to smuggle the

carcass out of the country.

 

As he entered his guilty plea, Ang told a magistrate's court that he

was unaware that there was a tiger body in his house. Ang's father

told reporters that he had been paid the equivalent of about US$400 by

hunters to keep the tiger until a Thai towkay (businessman or " boss " )

picked it up. " I did not know it was an offense, " the father is

quoted as saying

(http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2005/10/20/nation/12369667 & sec=n

ation).

 

The tiger weighed 156 kilograms (344 pounds) and was estimated to be

five or six years old. While under Malaysia's Wildlife Protection Act

Ang faced a maximum fine of US$4,100 or five years in jail, the court

fined him just US$1,900.

 

After protests from conservationists and the public over the light

sentence, the prosecutor's office filed an appeal asking for a stiffer

penalty. However, when the appeal was heard this week, the presiding

High Court justice concluded that Ang had not understood the

consequences of his previous guilty plea and ordered a retrial

(http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2006/6/29/nation/20060629150726 &

sec=nation).

A date for the new trial has not yet been set.

 

Upon leaving court today, Ang said he would seek legal representation,

which he did not have last October.

 

For regular updates on this case, sign up at

malaysian_cat or contact

malaysian_cat2003.

 

With gratitude for your interest in stopping tiger trade,

 

Judy

 

Judy Mills

Campaign Against Tiger Trafficking (CATT): An organized response to an

organized crime

 

 

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