SANDAKAN, April 18 —  A 38-year-old was fined RM48,000 after pleading guilty to a charge of possessing animals from protected species at the Sessions Court here on Thursday.

Hendry Rayner Endim, a plantation officer, pleaded guilty after the charge was read before Sessions Court Judge Roslinda Razali.

According to the charge sheet, the accused was found in possession of three carcasses of short-tailed pythons (blood pythons), one reticulated python, one carcass of a Malay civet, and two carcasses of common palm civets.

These animals are classified as protected species under the Wildlife Conservation Enactment 1997.

The offence was alleged to have been committed at about 2.10pm on May 24, 2025, along the main Paitan–Kanibongan road, without any valid permit under the Wildlife Conservation Enactment 1997.

The accused was charged under Section 41(2) of the same enactment, which provides for a fine of not less than RM30,000 and not more than RM100,000, or imprisonment for not less than six months and not more than five years, or both.

The court imposed a fine of RM48,000, or six months’ imprisonment in default of payment.

The prosecution was conducted by Wildlife Department prosecuting officer Primus Lambut, while the accused was unrepresented by counsel. — Daily Express