File picture of Hendrikus with the seized tusks at his quarters.
TAWAU: A security guard and his wife were sentenced to four years’ jail and a fine of RM200,000 by the Tawau Sessions Court on Friday for possessing four elephant tusks in their worker quarters at an oil palm estate nearby Luasong, here.Hendrikus Pale, 48, and Anastasia Daton, 50, pleaded guilty before judge Awang Kerisnada Awang Mahmud to a charge under Section 41(1) of Wildlife Conservation Enactment 1997 and also punishable under Section 41(1)(a) of the same Enactment and could be read together with Section 34 of Penal Code which carries a fine of RM50,000- RM250,000 and a jail term of not more than five years.
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The duo was charged with intention to possess Borneo elephant tusks, which is one of the most protected animal species, without legal permission from the related authority.
The report has revealed that both accused bought the four elephant tusks from someone last year for about RM1,500-RM2,000 each in order to be sold in Indonesia at a higher price.
On Jan 5, a special team of Sabah Forestry Department (Protect) seized four elephant tusks weighing between 2.0 and 2.5 kilogramme hidden in a closet of their worker’s quarters at about 1:30pm
Prosecuting the case was the Public Prosecutor from Kota Kinabalu Wildlife Department Abdul Karim Dakog.
