Posted on 13 October
2011
Pekanbaru, Indonesia - The trial of a tiger
skin smuggler on the Indonesian island of
Sumatra has brought immediate response from
WWF and its partners
after the prosecutor in the case recommended
a light sentence.
The smuggler was caught
in West Sumatra in March 2011 with a tiger
skin he pruchased 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), but the prosecutor has
recommend a mere three years imprisonment
and an IDR$3 million (US$335) fine.
Retno Setiyaningrum,
Legal and Policy Senior Officer for WWF-Indonesia,
stated that while WWF applauds the efforts
of law enforcement officers in the case,
the prosecution’s requested penalty is too
low.
“Since 2004, punishments
in illegal poaching cases have not been
a deterrent,” said Retno. “Just in 2009,
judges in Riau Province gave punishment
of only one year imprisonment and a fine
of two million rupiahs for two poachers
who killed three Sumatran tigers.”
WWF supporters and celebrities
have joined the call for the judge in the
current case to impose stricter punishment
on the perpetrator, following an earlier
call by WWF to hand down a maximum sentence
to the tiger smuggler.
“The Sumatran tiger
is part of Indonesia’s national identity,”
said Indonesian musician Nugie. “The illegal
wildlife trade is a loss for the entire
country, and maximum punishment in this
case can set an example that the government
is serious about law enforcement and tiger
poaching,” he added.
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 heavily
threatening the wild tiger population,”
said Osmantri. “Illegal poaching and trade
involves a complex and extensive network,
with law enforcement only partially having
any impact. Today, we still consider this
current poacher at large.”
West Sumatra, where the 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 other subspecies, which are
scattered in small pockets across Asia.
