A Johor Bahru store selling exotic animals is being investigated by Malaysian authorities after its owner was convicted in Singapore for attempting to smuggle endangered wildlife.
According to Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) director-general Abdul Kadir Abu Hassan, the department had been investigating the store since Dec 2019.
The store's co-owner, Singaporean Mitchell Edberg Li Heyi, 31, was sentenced to two months jail and fined $9,600 (RM29,479) last Thursday.
According to The Straits Times, Li was nabbed trying to enter the island republic at the Woodlands Checkpoint on Nov 10 last year with 22 animals including endangered and poisonous frogs in his car.
Among the species reportedly found in the vehicle were poison dart frogs, a sugar glider, and an Argentine tegu lizard.
He pled guilty to charges under the Animals and Birds Act - one charge for illegally importing animals into the country from Malaysia and five charges for failing to ensure the animals were transported without suffering unnecessarily. He also admitted to one charge under the Endangered Species (Import and Export) Act 2006.
According to the daily, Li co-owns the store in Johor and did not possess any licence to import animals into Singapore.
“He (Li) would take orders from customers in Singapore, collect the animals from suppliers in Malaysia, and then smuggle them across to Singapore,” the report read.
A Singaporean businessperson Jonathan Wong Kai Kit was fined $6,600 (RM20,267) last April for abetting Li to import endangered frogs, which were among the 22 animals found in the latter’s car.
According to Malaysia’s Wildlife Conservation Act 2010, only selected protected species are allowed to be sold by pet shops and require permits by Perhilitan. - Mkini
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