Man Fined RM200,000 and Jailed One Year for Possessing Pangolins

LAHAD DATU: A man was sentenced to one year in prison and fined RM200,000 by the Sessions Court here on Tuesday after pleading guilty to possessing live pangolins.

The accused, Irfan Zainudin, 45, was handed the sentence after the charge was read to him before Judge Suhailla Selag.

According to the charge sheet, at about 5.30pm on September 28, the accused was found in possession of three live Sunda pangolins (Manis javanica) at a workers’ housing area in Kunak.

The animals are a fully protected species listed under Schedule 1, Part 1, Number 13 of the Wildlife Conservation Enactment 1997, and the accused did not have any authorisation to possess them.

The accused was therefore charged with an offence under subsection 41(1) of the Wildlife Conservation Enactment 1997, punishable under subsection 41(4)(a) of the same enactment.

The offence carries a fine of not less than RM50,000 and not more than RM250,000, as well as imprisonment for a term of not less than one year and not more than five years.

The prosecution was conducted by Sabah Wildlife Department prosecuting officer Primus Lambut, while the accused was unrepresented.

Sinar Harian