Dept monitoring turtle egg dealers in S'kan
Published on: Monday, December 07, 2015
Kota Kinabalu: Wildlife Department staff will monitor the goings-on at one part of Sandakan and nab anyone caught selling turtle eggs on the sly.This follows a report from a Likas resident who was apparently approached by individuals wanting to sell these items while walking through the town at lunch time recently.He provided with the date of the incident, as well as the location of these occurrences. This information was forwarded to the Department.
ADVERTISEMENT
A spokesman for the agency's office in the district said its personnel would be on the lookout for those found dealing in turtle eggs.He admitted, however, that the Department faced an uphill task catching the vendors red-handed."We can only come down on the buyers and sellers when the items change hands and this never happens in the town itself," he said."On top of this, the culprits seem to know what our officers look like and scatter when they see them coming."
ADVERTISEMENT
Nevertheless, he said surveillance was carried out regularly by the agency's staff.The spokesman said the eggs being sold were not harvested from turtles in the State but came from the Philippines.
ADVERTISEMENT
He said a sign had been put up at one part of the town warning the public not to buy these items.Under the Department's ordinance, anyone found possessing or consuming turtle eggs risk being slapped with a RM50,000 fine, serving a five-year jail term or both.The Likas resident said he was 'signalled' by three separate men while walking through the town at around 12pm on a Saturday in November."They each formed the letters 'O' and 'K' with their fingers as they walked by and passed me within minutes of each other," he said."Not knowing what was happening, I went into a sundry shop and asked the cashier what this was all about.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
Daily Express Malaysia
