Hoang Van Thai, 39, entered his plea after the charges were read to him before judge Madihah Zainol through a Vietnamese interpreter, Sinar Harian reported.

Hoang was accused of being in possession of organs from the python reticulatus, a protected species under the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010, at Taman Johor Jaya in Johor Bahru at 9.50pm on April 4.

The court set April 20 for the case to be mentioned again, for confirmation of Hoang’s citizenship with the Johor immigration department and to decide on bail pending sentence.

The prosecution was carried out by wildlife and national parks department legal officer Mas Izzaty Lokman, while Hoang was represented by lawyer Fazaly Ali Ghazaly.

The Star reported that Mas Izzaty asked the court not to grant bail, citing the seriousness of the offences and the suspect’s status as a non-citizen.

However, Fazaly said his client’s nationality should not be a factor, as there should be no disparity in treatment between Malaysians and foreigners.

He said the prosecution had yet to provide documents or statements to prove the scale of the offence.