RM10,000 offer for info leading to conviction of turtle egg diners

KOTA KINABALU: A nongovernmental organisation for the conservation of turtles here has put up a reward of RM10,000 for information that will lead to the arrest and conviction of the people behind a controversial turtle egg dinner recently.

Friends Of Sea Turtles Education and Research (FOSTER) president Alexander Yee said that he hoped a monetary incentive can help motivate the public to assist the Sabah Wildlife Department in their investigation to bring those responsible to court.

“Conservation efforts and enforcement activities must go in tandem, otherwise conservation efforts will be in vain.

“Towards this end, in my continual effort to render support to our Sabah Wildlife Department, I will make a personal pledge a RM10,000 reward in exchange for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the persons responsible for this incident,” said Yee.

On Sunday, an alleged relative of a former Sabah assemblyman posted photos of an interracial Chinese New Year dinner that featured handfuls of turtle eggs. The post attracted criticism, not least due to the fact that consumption of turtle eggs is illegal in Sabah.

The post was since taken down but screenshots of photos of the dinner, along with the obscured name of the person who posted them, was spread on social media.

The Sabah Wildlife Department has since started an investigation into the case but was rumoured to have faced difficulties as it involved the family of a politician, as well as obtaining the proof needed to convict such a case.