(MY) crocodile butchered in vain

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Dad butchers crocodile in vain - New Straits Times *02 Oct 2006*

Desmond Davidson <news

 

 

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*KUCHING: It has been a frustrating and heartbreaking month for Hatta

Abidin as he continued to search for the killer crocodile which attacked his

12-year-old son on Sept 3.

*

All the anguished father from Kampung Bako wanted was to recover the remains

of his son, Mohd Azuan Hatta, who was dragged off by a crocodile as he

crossed the river near his house.

 

Despite the best efforts of villagers, including hiring the services of a

few bomoh, the killer crocodile has yet to be found.

 

And so, when Hatta, 36, heard yesterday that a crocodile had been snared in

a trap, he rushed to the riverbank.

 

With an axe, Hatta hacked at the head of the trussed up three-metre long

reptile — ignoring repeated warnings from Sarawak Forestry Corporation (SFC)

officials that it was an offence to kill the reptile.

 

The officers tried to stop Hatta and told him that it was not the same

crocodile which had attacked his son.

 

The officers had earlier pumped water into the crocodile's stomach to flush

out its contents and found no signs of human remains.

 

At this point, however, Hatta was beyond reasoning. He threatened the

officers and continued to strike at the crocodile.

 

He only stopped when the axe handle broke.

 

Hatta then found a parang and sliced open the crocodile's stomach. He found

nothing.

 

Hatta may now also be in trouble with the SFC.

 

A senior forestry officer said the SFC, which had come under heavy criticism

from non-governmental organisations over its handling of the matter, was

likely to take action against Hatta for killing the crocodile, which is a

protected species.

 

This is the second crocodile to be killed since Azuan was attacked. On Sept

12, a 2.7m-long crocodile was butchered after it got caught in one of the

traps set near Hatta's house.

 

In a statement following the killing of the first crocodile, Sahabat Alam

Malaysia had said that it was disappointed that the SFC had allowed

villagers a free hand in capturing the killer reptile.

 

" How many more crocodiles are going to die before the killer croc is

caught? " its president S.M. Mohd Idris asked.

 

 

Hunt for killer crocodile called off -New Straits Times

*03 Oct 2006*

Desmond Davidson <news

 

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*KUCHING: Sarawak wildlife authorities are calling off the hunt for the

crocodile which killed a boy a month ago.

*

The reason: Their search is beginning to resemble a bloodbath.

 

The New Straits Times has learnt that several non-governmental organisations

made their displeasure known to the Sarawak Forestry Corporation (SFC) after

Hatta Abidin hacked a reptile on Sunday.

 

The father of the 12-year-old boy threatened SFC officials who warned him

that it was an offence to kill the crocodile.

 

He grabbed a parang and sliced open its stomach. He, however, found no trace

of his son, Mohd Azuan Hatta.

 

There was no repeat of Sunday's butchery after two more crocodiles were

snared in a trap in Sungai Tupai yesterday. The presence of policemen and

wildlife officers at the village jetty prevented a repeat of those ugly

scenes.

 

Wildlife officers quickly transported the crocodiles to the Matang wildlife

sanctuary, where the larger crocodile was cut open in the presence of Hatta.

 

 

A few strands of hair and a pair of underwear was found in the stomach of

the 5-metre male crocodile.

 

Hatta could not confirm if the underwear belonged to his son.

 

The hair will be sent for DNA testing to determine if it is human.

 

The smaller crocodile had its stomach flushed out. Nothing was found. The

pair of crocodiles may be the last to be caught and killed in Kampung Bako.

 

" We plan to end the hunt, " SFC general manager Wilfred Landong said.

 

The sight of the crocodile being hacked on Sunday also affected Sajali

Abang, the man credited with trapping the reptile.

 

" Our duty was to catch the crocodile and bring it to the authorities. We

must not kill these animals. Leave it to the authorities, " he said.

 

Sajali, better known as Bujang Abong, yesterday removed all the traps he

laid in Sungai Tupai.

 

" It's over for me. My work is done, " he said.