Seven charged over keeping of rare bird species

IPOH: A man and a woman were each fined RM2,000 by the Sessions Court here today for keeping and placing birds of the White-rumped Shama species or "burung murai batu" at sites other than the premises specified in the licence two years ago.
Judge Ikmal Hishan Mohd Tajuddin handed down the sentence on Liew Sun Cheong, 49, and Cheah Lee Ying, 24, after they pleaded guilty to the charge.
The court also ordered the duo to be jailed for 10 days if they failed to pay the fine. They paid the fine.
Meanwhile, four other people pleaded not guilty to the same offence after the charge was read out to them in Cantonese. They were Lee Kim Hoong, 52; Loo Yew Fai, 59; Pang Ah Chin, 66; and Leong Liang Thye, 45.
All the accused were charged under Section 46 of the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010 which provides for a fine of up to RM20,000 or imprisonment for a term of up to one year, or both, upon conviction.
Meanwhile, another man, Lew Sek San, 43, pleaded not guilty to possessing the birds without a valid licence under Section 60(1)(a) of the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010.
He was charged with committing the offence at a business premises located at No 118, Lorong Bercham 17, 31400, Bercham, here, at 11am on Sept 5, 2014.
Department of Wildlife And National Parks prosecuting officer Noor Alif Wira Osman conducted the prosecution while the accused were represented by M. Kulasegaran.
The court set Nov 25 for mention of the case against Kim Hoong, Yew Fai, Ah Chin, Liang Thye and Sek San. — Bernama