00:01A cook pleaded not guilty at the Tawau Sessions Court on Tuesday to a charge of illegally
00:07possessing a pangolin at a resort in Sempona.
00:10The 45-year-old, Mohamed Ali Ikram Tien Abdullah, was charged under Section 41 of the Wildlife
00:18Conservation Enactment 1997 and could face a maximum fine of RM250,000 and up to five
00:26years in jail upon conviction.
00:29Ali Ikram was accused of possessing a live pangolin, Manis javanica, that was found inside
00:35a black plastic container at the resort on February 23.
00:40The animal is a fully protected species under Schedule 1, Part 1, No. 13 of the enactment,
00:46and Ali Ikram allegedly did not have valid authorisation to possess it.
00:51The court set bail at RM15,000 and also ordered the accused to surrender his passport to the
00:58court.
00:59Earlier, Sabah Wildlife Department Director Abu Bakar said the resort was raided during an
01:05integrated operation dubbed Ops Kazana, during which officers found a live pangolin in a bucket
01:12and several pots of cooked pangolin herbal soup.
01:16As a totally protected species, all possession, trade or consumption of pangolins is illegal.
01:21The court set bail at RM15,000 and also ordered the
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