Datuk Christina Liew-Deputy Chief Minister
KOTA KINABALU: Law enforcement personnel have been given a pat on the back for the recent arrests of suspects involved in wildlife poaching
activities in Tongod and Tawau.
Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Christina Liew commended the police, Rela, Sabah Wildlife Department’s (SWD) Wildlife Rangers and Yayasan Sabah’s Wildlife Wardens for their success in apprehending the suspects at Kg
Keramuak, Tongod on Wednesday (April 22) and at Jalan Sungai Imam, Tawau on Thursday (April 23).
In the Tongod case, police nabbed two local men, aged between 30 and 36, and seized the carcass of a deer. And in Tawau, three locals, aged between 29 and 49, were arrested by wildlife rangers and wardens, together with the carcasses of five deer and chunks of meat.
“Kudos to the law enforcers. Such concerted effort on their part is laudable. I was informed by the SWD Director (Augustine Tuuga) that
the roadblock in Tawau was manned by our wildlife rangers who were assisted by Yayasan Sabah’s Wildlife Wardens. And the arrest in Tongod was made by a police patrol team assisted by Rela members. They were on a crime prevention and COVID-19 patrol under the Movement Control Order (MCO).
“My message is that the act of ruthless poaching does not pay. Culprits will eventually be caught up by the long arm of the law. I hope the arrests will serve as a deterrent to would-be perpetrators out there,” Liew, who is also Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment, said in a statement issued here, Friday.
The Minister also thanked the people for their co-operation, saying “the arrest in Tawau came after a public tip-off.” She urged the law enforcement personnel to continue their relentless effort in pursuing other poachers who are possibly still at
large.
According to Liew, both cases are being investigated for possession of protected species under the Sabah Wildlife Conservation Enactment
1997. ENDS