KUCHING, 28 APRIL Two drugstore owners in Sarikei were fined RM15,000 each for trying to bribe a Sarawak Forestry Corporation (SFC) enforcement officer last year.
They pleaded guilty to committing an offence between 10am and 11am on 23 July 2020 at an eatery near RTM by offering RM30,000.00 as an inducement for SFC enforcement officer not to take any action against them for illegally possessing protected animal parts under Section 29 of the Wildlife Protection Ordinance, 1998.
Both accused paid their fines.
SFC Chief Operations Executive, Zolkipli Mohamad Aton, praised his officer for taking a stand against bribery in the enforcement operation.
“Integrity is one of our common values that guide our everyday work as the
custodian of parks and wildlife, and I value the high integrity of my staff,” said in a statement here today.
Meanwhile, in a separate case, two Indonesians were sentenced to 21 months in jail and fined RM146,000.00 by Sessions Court Mid yesterday after pleading guilty to illegal possession of wild
animals of various species.
On April 20, Sarawak Forestry Corporation (SFC) enforcement officers arrested three Indonesian men at the coastal road near the Bakam area after they were suspected to be in possession of 68 wild animals of various species without a licence.
Two of them were charged under section 29(2) and 37(2)(c) of the Wild Life Protection Ordinance 1998, while the other one was taken to the immigration department for further investigation.
For the first charged under section 29(2), they were sentenced to 9 months in prison and fined RM10,000 in default three months’ jail. For the second charge under Section 37(2)(c), they were sentenced to 12 months in prison and fines totaling RM136,000 in default four months in prison for having 68 wild birds without a licence from the Controller of the Wild Life.
Both jail sentences run concurrently from the date of arrest, and they will be handed over to the immigration department for deportation.
