9MY) butchered tiger

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Monday November 13, 2006-The Star

 

 

Dept hopes to trace hunters of butchered tiger

 

IT'S not the end of the matter even though a Kelantan factory worker

had pleaded guilty to having the butchered parts of a tiger.

 

Updating the media on the status of the case, state Wild-life And

National Parks Depart-ment deputy director Wan Azali Wan Alwi said the

scope of the investigation had been widen to gather more evidence.

 

He said the department hoped to track down the hunters and mastermind

who might be able to shed light on whether a syndicate was in-volved.

 

" The huge public interest (the case has drawn) is good as it generates

fear among would-be smugglers and if the punishment is severe, it can

become a deterrent, " he added.

 

He urged anyone with information on the case to relay it to the

department, stressing it would be kept confidential.

 

Ang Chun Tan, 23, was fined RM7,000 by a magistrate's court in Tumpat

for possessing parts of a tiger carcass in his refrigerator. A public

outcry followed over the fine, which was deemed too light.

 

Butchered parts like the head, body and internal organs of the animal

were found in the refrigerator in Ang's home by a raiding team in Kam-

pung Mentua, Pengkalan Kubor in Tumpat, some 30km from here.

 

The male tiger weighing about 156kg and about five to six years old

was believed to have been killed in Jeli or Gua Musang. In June this

year, Kota Baru High Court Justice Datuk Muhamad Ideres Muhamad Rapee

ordered a retrial as he felt that Ang had not understood the

implications of his guilty plea entered in October last year.

 

Under the Wildlife Protec-tion Act 76/72, a poacher faces a maximum

fine of RM15,000 or could be jailed up to five years.