Compiled by MARTIN CARVALHO, C. ARUNO and R. ARAVINTHAN
SOME poachers are resorting to homemade guns to hunt protected wildlife, according to Wildlife and National Parks Department director-general Datuk Abdul Kadir Abu Hashim.
He said based on seizures, most of the guns were made of iron pipes and hand-carved wooden stocks, with some able to fire a projectile at a lethal 2,000kph at targets 50m away, Metro Ahad reported.
In one latest case, a man in his 30s was detained during a joint operation at Felda Bandar Penawar in Kota Tinggi, Johor, on Friday, said Abdul Kadir.
Following questioning, five Malayan porcupines were found in an enclosure in the man’s house, as well as animal trophies, parts to make homemade guns, and seven live bullets.
Abdul Kadir said the man was handed over to police for further investigations for keeping wildlife without a permit and possessing a homemade firearm.
Criminologist Kamal Affandi Hashim said homemade firearms pose a threat, with some people resorting to social media and YouTube to find out how to make a gun.
He cited recent incidents when a man accidentally shot his nephew with a homemade gun while out hunting in Machang, Kelantan, and a 28-year-old injuring four of his fingers and breaking a rib after accidentally discharging his homemade gun.
> The Covid-19 pandemic led Michelle Lungan from Sarawak to venture onto the big screen after spending several years with local online digital television station TVS in Kuching, Mingguan Malaysia reported.
Michelle, a Kelabit, got her big break when she was offered the leading role in local movie Tekang, following her experience in a drama series at TVS.
The rising star said she was brought up by her grandparents in a small village in Serian before moving back with her parents to Kuching to complete her secondary education.
She said she misses her late grandfather Mawan Bala Titi Maran and broke down in tears when visiting Bario to scout for a location for a scene in the movie as he used to bring her there.
“After he died about four years ago, I could not bring myself to step foot in Bario,” she said, adding that he would have been proud of her efforts to highlight the life of the Kelabit in Sarawak through the movie.
Tekang is set for release on Thursday.
The above articles are compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with a, it denotes a separate news item.
