Art Museum Owner Fined RM300,000 For Illegal Possession Of Wildlife Parts

KUALA LUMPUR, July 25 (Bernama) -- An art museum owner was fined RM300,000 by the Sessions Court here today for possessing various protected wildlife parts without a licence or special permit last year.

Judge Mohd Zaki Mohd Salleh sentenced Yiu Shoou Rang, 66, after he pleaded guilty to eight amended charges. The court also ordered nine months’ imprisonment in default of payment. Yiu subsequently paid the fine.

Yiu was charged with four counts of possessing, without a special permit, protected wildlife parts, including an orangutan skull, two estuarine crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) skulls, and seven elephant tusks, all of which are fully protected species under the Second Schedule of the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010 (Act 716).

The offences were committed at a business premises in Central Market, Jalan Hang Kasturi, around 3.20 pm on Jan 8, 2024.

He was charged under Section 68(1)(b) of the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010, which carries a fine of between RM50,000 and RM500,000, or imprisonment for up to three years, or both.

Yiu also faced four additional charges of possessing other wildlife parts without a valid licence at the same time and location. These included 150 parts of wild boar (Sus scrofa), 10 porcupine quills and six parts of sambar deer. 

These charges were brought under Section 60(1)(a) of the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010 (Act 716), which provides for a maximum fine of RM50,000, imprisonment for up to three years, or both, upon conviction.

However, five additional charges previously brought against Yiu were taken into consideration by the court under Section 171A of the Criminal Procedure Code.

Deputy public prosecutor Suhaila Rashid urged the court to impose a sentence commensurate with the severity of the offence to serve as a deterrent.

In mitigation, defence counsel Teh See Khoon pleaded for a lenient sentence, submitting that the items in question were part of an Orang Asli collection intended for museum display.

-- BERNAMA