Jakarta Globe – AFP, October 25, 2013
Banda Aceh.
An Indonesian military tribunal has jailed two soldiers for illegally
possessing two stuffed Sumatran tigers and a stuffed bear, with the men forced
to appear in court alongside the protected animals.
The court
in Banda Aceh, on western Sumatra island, Thursday handed Chief Sergeant Joko
Rianto a two-month jail term and Chief Private Rawali a three-month sentence.
Rianto was
given a five million rupiah ($460) fine while Rawali, who like many Indonesians
goes by one name, was ordered to pay 2.5 million rupiah.
“Rawali and
Joko Rianto have been found legitimately and convincingly guilty of illegally
possessing dead protected animals,” judge Lieutenant Colonel Budi Purnomo said.
Rianto, who
was caught with one of the tigers and a bear in his house, argued he had
purchased the critically endangered tiger to use its teeth to cure his sick
wife.
Tiger parts
are frequently used in traditional medicine in Asia despite the lack of
peer-reviewed scientific evidence showing that they have any medicinal
benefits.
Rawali
claimed a friend had given him the tiger to repay a debt.
Ratno
Sugito, a local animal activist, welcomed the sentences: “Even though the
sentence was weak, at least the military court showed its willingness to
enforce the law.”
The
Sumatran tiger is critically endangered and there are only an estimated 400 to
500 still alive in the wild on the island from which the animal takes its name.
Its numbers
are rapidly dwindling due to destruction of its rainforest habitat and poachers
targeting the animals to sell their parts, mainly for use in Chinese medicine.
The court
did not disclose the species of the bear although it said the animal was
protected by law.
Agence France-Presse
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