A three-member bench chaired by Justice Hashim Hamzah said they were restoring the jail term imposed by the sessions court on Nguyen Van Tien as the offence relating to wildlife is serious.
“We set aside the High Court ruling which had imposed a two-year jail term. The penalty of a RM300,000 fine, or 12 months’ imprisonment, however, remains,” he said.
Justices Zaini Mazlan and Noorin Badaruddin were also on the bench.
Nguyen was caught by wildlife rangers on Dec 12, 2023 at Taman Negara in Pahang with the leopard parts, weapons and tools.
He was charged under Section 68(1)(b) of the Wildlife Conservation Act with keeping any part or derivative of a totally protected wildlife without a special permit.
Those found guilty may be jailed for up to 15 years and fined a minimum of RM150,000.
The leopard is a protected species in Malaysia. It is on a special list in the Act which carries some of the most severe penalties in the law.
On April 24, 2024, the Raub sessions court sentenced Ngyuen to four years’ jail and a fine of RM300,000 after he pleaded guilty at the second mention of the case.
In September, the High Court reduced his jail term by two years but maintained the fine.
Nguyen had also faced three charges under the Taman Negara (Pahang) (Amendment) Enactment 2018 for trespassing and illegal possession of weapons and tools, for which the court sentenced him to 24 months’ jail on each charge.
The court ordered the jail terms to be served concurrently, and Nguyen did not appeal against the sentences.
Today, Nguyen, who came to seek employment in Malaysia, claimed that he met several other Vietnamese nationals who gave him the leopard meat in 54 portions to take home.
“I’m sorry for being ignorant of Malaysian laws regarding the protection of wildlife,” he said through a Vietnamese interpreter as he was not represented by a lawyer.
He pleaded to the court to maintain the two-year jail term so that he could return home to care for his aged parents, his four children and his wife.
Deputy public prosecutor Aznee Salmie Ahmad said the court should be at the forefront of creating awareness on wildlife protection by imposing a deterrent sentence.
She said protected wildlife was a national heritage.
“The offender was bold enough to commit the offence at our national park,” she said, adding that a clear message must be sent to all that Malaysia was committed to conserving its wildlife.
Aznee said the Court of Appeal should interfere and correct the sentence imposed by the High Court, which she described as manifestly inadequate.
Representatives of Traffic South East Asia, a wildlife trade monitoring network, and Justice for Wildlife Malaysia were present to observe the proceedings.