Posted on 31 October
2011
Pekanbaru, Indonesia – A convicted Indonesian
tiger smuggler is appealing a state court
ruling of two years and four months in prison
and a IDR3 million (US$340) fine after he
was caught in possession of a tiger skin
earlier this year, a sentence WWF says is
still far too lenient.
The smuggler was arrested
in West Sumatra in March 2011 with a tiger
skin he purchased for IDR$25 million (US$3,000).
Under current Indonesian law, the suspect
could receive a maximum sentence of five
years imprisonment and a IDR$100 million
fine (US$11,200).
Retno Setiyaningrum, Legal and Policy Senior
Officer for WWF-Indonesia, says that while
WWF applauds the efforts of law enforcement
officers in the case, the sentence still
lets the convicted smuggler off far too
easy.
“WWF urges High Court of West Sumatra to
apply environmental law strictly and fall
maximum punishment to the defendant,” Retno
said.
Public supports stricter punishments
During the trial, WWF initiated a social
media campaign that gained more than 3,000
signatures in support of the court handing
down the maximum punishment possible on
the tiger smuggler. The petition was sent
to the city of Payakumbuh before the last
trial to show the judges of the public support
for this important case.
WWF-Indonesia Tiger Protection Unit Coordinator
Osmantri stated that investigations of tiger
poaching must touch the entire chain of
the problem, from hunters to smugglers to
consumers:
“The level of Sumatran tiger poaching, especially
in Riau and West Sumatra Provinces, is a
major threat to the wild tiger population,”
said Osmantri. “We just found out that a
tiger was trapped and shot by an unknown
perpetrator in Batang Anai Regency, West
Sumatra in mid October. The Natural Conservation
Agency of West Sumatra is still investigating
the killing and pursuing the perpetrator.”
West Sumatra, where the current case originated,
has one of the highest tiger populations
on the island. There are less than 400 Sumatran
tigers left, out of a total of only 3,200
and five other subspecies, which are scattered
in small pockets across Asia.
