Kota Kinabalu: Three Filipinos were jailed a total of three years each by the Sessions Court, Tuesday, for having scheduled marine species and transporting endangered marine bivalves.
Erwin Monares Comendo, 39, Rudyzon Darol Infante, 37, and Arnel Meniano Getes, 52, pleaded guilty before Judge Elsie Primus to committing the offences at 2.40pm on Sept 27, 2023 on a local fishing boat some 58 nautical miles northwest of Simpang Mengayau, Kudat.
On the first count, the trio were sentenced to two years’ jail each for having scheduled species, namely frozen fish (Maming Napoleon) - six boxes (25 fish in one box), seahorses - one sack (approximately 6kg) and shark fin - one sack (approx. 14kg) without a permit.
They had committed an offence under Section 12(a) of the International Trade in Endangered Species Act 2008, which provides for a fine of up to RM1 million, or imprisonment for a term of up to seven years, or both, on conviction.
SPONSORED CONTENT Mengalum for world’s first net zero carbon island resort Taiwan’s Sinyi Group is on track to unveil the world’s first unique net zero carbon island resort on Mengalum Island. . Read more On the second count, the trio were handed one year’s jail each for having and transporting endangered species of dried small giant clam (kima) approximately 1,368kg without written permission from the Director-General of Fisheries.
The offence under Regulation 2(1) of the Fisheries (Control of Endangered Species of Fish) Regulations 1999 is punishable under Section 25(b) of the Fisheries Act, which provides for a fine of up to RM20,000 or up to two years’ jail, or both, on conviction.
Elsie ordered them to serve the imprisonment from their date of arrest and to be referred to the Immigration Department after that.
Earlier, Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Nurun Nazifah Muhammad Iyen Atim informed the court that the Maritime Enforcement Agency stopped a local fishing boat and found three Filipinos on board.
Further inspection on the boat found the Filipinos had transported several endangered fish and investigations revealed that there was no written permission from the Director-General of Fisheries issued to bring and transport endangered fish species as well as dried clams on board.
Confirmation of sample identification from the Borneo Marine Research Institute, Universiti Malaysia Sabah found that there were scheduled species on the boat which were frozen fish (Maming Napoleon), seahorses and sharp’s fin which are all stated in the Third Schedule (Section 3) of the International Trade in Endangered Species Act 2008.
The identification of the dried kima species from the Batu Maung Fisheries Research Institute confirmed that the sample referred to is kima, among others, from the species Tridacna Maxima, which is specified in Regulation 2 Table, Fisheries (Control of Endangered Species of Fish) Regulations 1999.
Counsel Chong Kian Meng, representing the three, requested for a lenient sentence as they were remorseful and had pleaded guilty at the first instance.
DPP Nurun applied for a heavier and deterrent sentence as the offences committed were serious.
Endangered species trafficking is a serious offence which must be prevented as such activity could bring the extinction of the species.
Malaysia should not be made a transit point in the eyes of the international community and Malaysia and other countries have agreed to co-operate and preserve wildlife species and the said Act was to serve the purpose, said DPP Nurun.
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