WWF-Malaysia supports harsher sentencing on wildlife crime

KOTA KINABALU: WWFMalaysia has expressed full support for harsher sentencing against wildlife crimes in Sabah as reflected in a recent case which saw an online trader sentenced to jail for possession of 20 turtle eggs.

Its head of marine, Monique Sumampouw, in a statement said the sentencing that followed the guidelines on wildlife crimes was ideal in efforts to counter illicit trading and poaching of wildlife in the state.

“The green, hawksbill and olive Ridley turtles are totally protected under Schedule 1 of the state’s Wildlife Conservation Enactment 1997. It is important for all stakeholders to ensure the survival of these species.

“Found either nesting, seeking for food or migrating along the coasts and waters of Sabah, these marine turtles are threatened by various human threats particularly egg and turtle poaching,” she said.

On June 26, the Sabah Wildlife Department’s enforcement officers nabbed a 21-year- old local for actively marketing turtle eggs via his Facebook account.

The enforcement team arrested him near a hypermarket in Putatan here and seized 20 green turtle eggs from the man.

On July 4, the man was brought before the Sessions Court and was sentenced to one year’s jail and slapped with a hefty fine of RM200,000, in default of two years’ jail.

The sentence imposed is referenced to the sentencing guideline developed by the judiciary, which was done in collaboration with the Sabah Wildlife Department and WWF-Malaysia.

The then Chief Justice of Sabah and Sarawak Tan Sri David Dak Wah launched the guideline in June last year.

Elaborating on endangered sea turtles, Sumampouw noted that there was a devastating 129 cases of marine turtle eggs seized in Sabah between 1999 and 2017 based on TRAFFIC’s 2019 report entitled “A rapid assessment on the trade in marine turtles in Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam”.

Sumampouw stressed marine turtles contribute to healthier habitats, which in turn contributes to better marine harvest and benefits the fishery industry.

“In order for a turtle population to maintain, every turtle egg should be saved. It is important to conserve marine turtles as they play a vital role in maintaining healthy marine ecosystems which in turn, contributes to human survival in the long run,” she said. — Bernama