Ensuring wild-life cases not lost in court
Published on: Thursday, September 03, 2015
Kota Kinabalu: A pillar of wildlife conservation Dr Benoit Goossen, Director of Danau Girang Field Centre, was charged with killing of a "Totally Protected Species" of wildlife in the Lower Kinabatangan.The only thing factual about the above is that it is not true. It was but one of the 10 hilarious yet realistic environmental mock trials staged throughout the High Court, Sessions Court and Magistrate courts of Kota Kinabalu, Wednesday, presided by experienced judges, designed to train POs and IOs (Prosecuting and Investigating Officers) on how to investigate and prosecute environmental offences with greater success. Dubbed "Environmental Workshop and Capacity Building for POs and IOs" organised by Judiciary-led Sabah State Working Group on the Environment – the second of its kind since April, the two-day event signalled the advent of "Environmental Rule of Law" which is part of the Putrajaya Statement – an output of the First Asia & Pacific International Colloquim on Dec. 12, 2013, attended by Chief Justices from across the region, including Tan Sri Richard Malanjum, Chief Justice of Sabah and Sarawak.
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Key elements of the Putrajaya Statement include 'right to healthy environment, adequate and implementable laws, access to justice and information, public participation, accountability, transparency, liability for environmental damages, fair and just enforcement. The Statement borders on mild judicial warning to the region that robust laws, integrated governance structure, better accountability and a co-ordinated sustainability approach are needed for the long term viability of this fastest growing region which faces serious challenges from unsustainable growth, burgeoning populations, unbridled consumption and urbanisation. Malanjum said the aim of the two-day workshop is to train POs and IOs so that they will know how to better handle cases.
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"There were a lot of cases previously where those charged got acquitted not so much because there was no evidence, but because of mishandling of evidence or failure to prosecute properly," Malanjum told Daily Express."For Investigating Officers, we would like to see they know how to handle evidence, how to collect evidence because that's very important. So we are going to focus on that.
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"For Prosecution Officers, we want to see they know how to tender evidence in court, how to ask witnesses questions because sometimes they ask the wrong questions and lose the case. "They need to plan, it's all about planning. That's why so many turn up because they want to get exposure," Malanjum referred to the packed High Court turnout. "But the NGOs have to come to help the government agencies," he added.William Baya, Director of Sabah Wildlife Department, lauded the workshop.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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