By Dorcas Ting
KOTA SAMARAHAN, Nov 1: A man narrowly avoided a jail sentence today after the Kota Samarahan Sessions Court placed him on a one-year good behavior bond for possessing 35 turtle eggs without proper authorisation from the wildlife controller in July 2022.
Judge Shafiza Razak Tready handed down the decision, releasing Awang Asyraff Awang Ismail Nazarudin, 28, on a RM2,000 bond, with himself as the guarantor, under Section 294(1) of the Criminal Procedure Code.
This arrangement grants him conditional freedom, provided he adheres to strict conduct guidelines over the bond’s duration.
The court also ruled that Awang Asyraff’s impounded vehicle and mobile phone should be returned to him.
However, the turtle eggs remain confiscated and will be disposed of by prosecutors, as stipulated under Section 50 of the Wildlife Protection Ordinance.
Awang Asyraff pleaded guilty to an alternative charge under Section 29(1) of the Wildlife Protection Ordinance 1998, carrying a penalty under Section 29(1)(c) of the same ordinance.
His offense involved the unauthorised possession of wildlife products, specifically turtle eggs, in a vehicle parked beside a shopping center in Kota Samarahan around 2.15am on July 5, 2022.
Previously, on May 27, 2024, Awang Asyraff was sentenced to four months in prison by the Kota Samarahan Sessions Court under Section 37(1) of the Wildlife Protection Ordinance 1998.
However, he was released on bail after only four days, following an appeal to postpone the remainder of his sentence on May 31, pending a High Court appeal.
On Sept 23, 2024, after hearing the appeal, Kuching High Court Judge Datuk Dr Alwi Abdul Wahab overturned the initial conviction and ordered a retrial.
Prosecution was led by Deputy Public Prosecutor Ronald Felix Hardin and Leonard Baring, a prosecutor from the Sarawak Forestry Corporation.
Awang Asyraff was represented by attorney Fabian Sigar. — DayakDaily
