KOTA KINABALU: Three foreigners have been sentenced to a year in prison and fined a total of RM660,000 at the Kota Marudu Sessions Court for possessing 865kg of critically endangered green sea turtle parts in Sabah’s northern waters off Kudat.
The Filipinos – skipper Erwin Monares Comendo, 39, and crew members Rudyzon Darel Infante, 37, and 52-year-old Amel Meniona – pleaded guilty before Kota Kinabalu Sessions Court judge A. Akhiruddin Acho, during a sitting at the Kota Marudu Court yesterday.
They were charged under Section 41(1) of the state’s Wildlife Conservation Enactment 1997, read together with Section 34 of the Penal Code, which provides for five years’ jail and a maximum of RM250,000 fine.
The judge sentenced each of them to one year imprisonment and a fine of RM220,000 each.
If they fail to pay the fine, they would be subjected to an additional eight months’ jail term.
The three men were arrested on Sept 27, 2023, by the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA), which found the suspects with green turtle body parts packed inside 39 sacks and 14 boxes on their boat in waters off Simpang Mengayau.
The case was investigated by the Sabah Wildlife Department and the accused were charged on Dec 9, 2024.
Disclosing the court decision, Sabah Wildlife Department director Mohd Soffian Abu Bakar said the arrest was a result of strategic cooperation between enforcement agencies.
“The Sabah Wildlife Department greatly appreciates the cooperation and swift action of the MMEA in Kudat district, which successfully thwarted an attempt to smuggle turtle parts in Sabah waters.
“This reflects our continued commitment to protecting endangered marine species, especially green turtles,” Mohd Soffian said in a statement.
