KUCHING: Two former civil servants heaved a sigh of relief when the High Court here dismissed the prosecution’s appeal to review a lower court’s penalty for illegal possession of turtle eggs.
Judicial Commissioner Zaleha Mohd Yusuf Pan ruled that there were no valid grounds to interfere with the sentence previously handed down to Nurashwan Sulaiman, 23, and Supani Jumal, 65.
The court reviewed the evidence, documents on record, written submissions, and oral arguments presented by both parties before making the decision.
Previously, Nurashwan and Supani had pleaded guilty to charges under Section 37(1) of the Wildlife Protection Ordinance 1998.
Nurashwan, a former staff of the Turtle Management Board, was charged with possessing 529 turtle eggs at a roadside near Jeti Trusan Jaya 1, Sematan at around 12.30 pm on October 11, 2023.
The Sessions Court sentenced him to a fine of RM26,450 in default six months’ imprisonment.
Meanwhile, Supani, a former police officer, faced two charges under the same Section for possessing 40 and 190 turtle eggs at two locations – one at a premises in Sematan Market and another at a house in Kampung Tanah Hitam – between 9.35 pm and 10.00 pm on August 12, 2023.
The Sessions Court sentenced him to a fine of RM9,600 in default 11 months’ imprisonment.
According to the case facts, the Sarawak Forestry Corporation (SFC) discovered that both men did not have any valid permit from a wildlife controller for the turtle eggs in their possession.
Investigations revealed that the seized eggs belonged to the Chelonidae species, which are fully protected animals listed under Part 1 of the First Schedule of the Wildlife Protection Ordinance 1998.
It was also confirmed that both men had paid their fines.
The prosecution was led by SFC Deputy Public Prosecutor, Roland Felix Hardin, and Prosecution Officer, Christie Sereni Philimon, while the men were represented by counsels, Ralph Lee and Christopher Bada.
