Kota Kinabalu:
The case of a 52-year-old businessman with IMM13 document charged with having 57 Green turtle eggs without a permit will proceed even though the warrant of arrest against him had not been executed.Sessions Court Judge Elsie Primus said she still wanted to pursue the case of Arman Amri but needed cooperation from other government agencies to trace Arman’s whereabouts. The court said there are mechanisms to execute the warrant and she will give a new date for the case in which she set Oct 8 for mention as well as review a warrant of arrest against Arman.
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Earlier, Prosecuting Officer Abdul Karim Dakog from the Wildlife Department told the court he was informed by the Investigating Officer that Arman could not be traced in Semporna. He then requested to court to give a new date to meet the Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) for further action pertaining to the case. Elsie then questioned whether the prosecution had discussed with Semporna police station regarding the case and also said that the IMM13 document can be renewed so there is a possibility that Arman could be traced. She further requested to look the search ID for the case, which was then tendered by the prosecution. “From this ID, I can see many remarks but no information given. I understand that the Wildlife Department could not execute the warrant but the police could help.
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“The Wildlife Department could request from the DPP’s office to help local agency like Wildlife Department and if possible that the DPP’s office could issue a letter to ask the police to assist in this case,” she said. The court further said that this was one of the agency’s case in which a lawyer allegedly misled court to grant a bail on the accused and the accused himself also allegedly misled the court. In previous proceedings, Arman was released on a bail of RM15,000 and the RM10,000 had been paid. Arman is accused of having the Green turtle eggs (Chelonia Mydas) which is protected and listed in Division 1 Schedule 1 of the Wildlife Preservation Enactment 1997, without any permit. He allegedly had the turtle eggs at 4pm on July 9, 2019 at Crafts Market here. The offence under Section 41(1) of the Wildlife Conservation Enactment 1997 provides for a fine of between RM50,000, and RM250,000 or a jail term of between a year and five years, or both, on conviction.
