KOTA SAMARAHAN: The Sessions Court here today (July 5) sentenced a local man to five months in prison and also fined him RM16,000 for possessing 850 turtle eggs in July last year.
Muhammad Faiq Suandi, 29, from Tanjung Bundong, Samarahan, pleaded guilty to the charge before Judge Iris Awen Jon.
He was charged under Section 29(1) of the Wildlife Protection Ordinance 1998 (Chapter 26) and punishable under Section 29(1)(c) of the same ordinance with possessing 850 turtle eggs of the Cheloniidae species.
However, the defendant, represented by lawyers Osman Ibrahim, Fadzillah Osman, Nur Atiqah Kuliah and Ernie Natasha Azman, requested a suspended sentence while awaiting an appeal to the High Court. He was granted bail of RM20,000.
This is because the defendant has health problems, specifically end-stage kidney failure and needs to undergo haemodialysis three times a week.
According to the facts of the case, Faiq was found to be in possession of the turtle eggs at a car park of a shopping centre in Kota Samarahan during a raid conducted by the Sarawak Forest Corporation (SFC) enforcement team on July 28, 2022.
