SINGAPORE COURT SENTENCES INDONESIAN REPTILE SMUGGLER

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Indonesian reptile skin smuggler jailed in Singapore

Sep 23, 2006, 5:24 GMT

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Singapore - An Indonesian seaman caught smuggling 11 bales of reptile skins

was sentenced to four months in jail and fined 10,000 Singapore dollars

(6,451 US dollars), court reports said Saturday.

 

Ali Mirhan, 24, a crew member on a barge, pleaded guilty Friday to importing

104 monitor lizard skins, six blood python skins and 4,080 reticulated

python skins from Indonesia without a permit.

 

He will serve an additional two months in jail because he was unable to pay

the fine.

 

An Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) team boarded the vessel

Thursday and found the bales of skins, valued at an estimated 250,000

Singapore dollars (161,290 US dollars) on the black market.

 

The reptiles are all protected under the Convention on International Trade

in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.

 

Ali said he was paid 17 Singapore dollars (10.96 US dollars) to bring the

skins by an Indonesian-Chinese man.

 

© 2006 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur