Wednesday, December 08, 2021

ECOCRIME
Thai Supreme Court jails tycoon over wildlife poaching

A Thai tycoon accused of poaching wildlife in a national park lost his final appeal Wednesday, in a long-running saga that drew public outrage over the elite's perceived impunity.

© Lillian Suwanrumpha Thai tycoon Premchai Karnasuta, accused of poaching wildlife, has lost his final appeal

Construction magnate Premchai Karnasuta was arrested in February 2018 when park officials found guns, animal carcasses -- including of a kalij pheasant and a red muntjac -- and the pelt of a black leopard at his campsite.

Premchai was found not guilty of possessing a leopard carcass, but he was convicted of three other poaching-related charges and sentenced to 16 months jail. It was raised to three years and two months by the Appeals Court.

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court upheld the guilty verdict and sentence of three years and two months, a court official confirmed.

He and two other defendants were ordered to pay 2 million baht ($60,000) in compensation.

Premchai, who arrived in a Range Rover sporting an eye patch, will not receive a suspended sentence, according to the attorney general's office.

He has been sent to Thong Pha Phum district prison, a court official confirmed.

The decision brings to a close a long-running case that sparked public anger in a kingdom fed up with perceived impunity for powerful figures.

Premchai's firm, Italian-Thai Development Company, is behind major infrastructure projects such as Bangkok's sky train and Suvarnabhumi airport.

He and his sister were on the Forbes Top 50 richest list for Thailand until 2016 with an estimated $630 million fortune at the time, but they have since dropped off the ranking.

World Wide Fund for Nature Thailand said the case was a victory for "wildlife and the rule of law".

"It is a sentence which sends a clear message that wildlife crime will not be tolerated no matter who you are," the organisation said in a statement.

"Today justice was served, and Thailand should be proud."

Members of the kingdom's wealthy elite have a habit of avoiding justice.

There was a public outcry last year when Thai authorities dropped charges against Red Bull heir Vorayuth "Boss" Yoovidhya after he crashed his Ferrari in 2012, killing a police officer.

Thailand's Attorney General's Office has since announced fresh charges and an Interpol Red Notice has been issued to arrest Vorayuth.

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AFP

Vietnam gives longest ever jail term for trading rhino horn: NGO


Vietnam gives longest ever jail term for trading rhino horn: NGOA rhino horn trader has been sentenced to 14 years in jail by a Vietnamese court, the longest ever prison term handed down for the crime, a local conservation group said (AFP/STR)

Tue, December 7, 2021

A rhino horn trader has been sentenced to 14 years in jail, the longest ever prison term a Vietnamese court has handed down for the crime, a local conservation group said Wednesday.

Vietnam is both a consumption hub and popular transit point for the multibillion-dollar trade in animal parts.

Authorities have long vowed to stem the flow of illegal wildlife criss-crossing its borders, but experts have warned the black market persists thanks to weak law enforcement.


Earlier this week, Do Minh Toan, 36, received 14 years in jail for trading and trafficking rhino horns from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) into Vietnam.

It came after a 2019 discovery by customs officials at Hanoi's Noi Bai international airport of 55 pieces of rhino horn -- weighing around 125 kilogrammes (275 pounds) -- in a carefully disguised shipment.

The pieces were encased in plaster and police used rods to break the casts apart.

According to non-government organisation Education for Nature Vietnam (ENV), the punishment is the toughest to date in the country for crimes relating to rhino horns and the wildlife trade.

"Amid the negative opinions about Vietnam's handling of wildlife crimes, this heavy penalty showed that Vietnam's competent authorities have begun to mete out serious punishment to deter people from wildlife crimes," ENV vice director Bui Thi Ha said in a statement.

The organisation said Vietnam had recorded 317 crimes relating to rhino horns since 2017. A total of 24 people have been arrested and charged, with the average jail term for those found guilty more than five years.

Vietnam and China remain lucrative markets for elephant tusks, pangolins, tiger parts and rhino horns.

Some believe that rhino horn helps cure diseases and hangovers when ground into powder.

Poachers in Africa have decimated wild rhino populations to meet demand despite the trade being banned globally since the 1970s.

Only about 29,000 rhinos survive in the wild, down from half a million at the beginning of the 20th century, according to conservationists.

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AFP

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