Indonesians fined over RM1.9 mln each for illegal possession of turtle eggs

KUCHING (Aug 5): The Sessions Court here today fined two Indonesian men RM1.997 million each in default six months’ jail for possessing 1,997 turtle eggs without the permission of the wildlife controller last Friday.

Judge Iris Awen Jon also sentenced Antonius Jaka, 24, to four months in jail, while Tino, 29, was sentenced to one month behind bars.

They pleaded guilty to a charge under Section 37(1) of the Wild Life Protection Ordinance 1998 and punishable under Section 29(1)(c), read together with Section 37(2)(a) of the Wild Life Protection Ordinance 1998, and Section 34 of the Penal Code.

The Section carries a jail term of up to two years and maximum fine of RM25,000 per individual animal part.

They committed the offence at a car park at Jalan Rock, Mile 3 here at around 7pm on Aug 2, 2024.

Based on the facts of the case, a team of enforcement officers comprising seven Sarawak Forestry Corporation personnel and four police officers conducted Operasi Bersepadu Khazanah and arrested Antonius and Tino.

They were found to be in possession of 20 black plastic bags, which contained suspected marine turtle eggs.

They also failed to show that they had written permission from the Controller of Wild Life.

Further investigation revealed that they possessed 1,997 marine turtle eggs belonging to the species Cheloniidae, all of which are species listed as Totally Protected Animal in Part I of the First Schedule of the Wild Life Protection Ordinance, 1998 [Chapter 26] without written permission from the controller of Wild Life.

Deputy public prosecutor Ronald Felix Hardin and prosecuting officers Christie Sereni Philimon and Paddril Peter handled the prosecution.

Neither Antonius nor Tino were represented by legal counsel.