KOTA KINABALU, April 24 — Sabah Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Christina Liew today commended law enforcement personnel in the state for the recent arrest of suspects involved in wildlife poaching activities in Tongod and Tawau.

Liew also gave a pat on the back to the police, RELA, Sabah Wildlife Department’s (SWD) Wildlife Rangers and Yayasan Sabah’s Wildlife Wardens for their success in apprehending the suspects at Kampung Keramuak, Tongod on Wednesday and at Jalan Sungai Imam, Tawau on Thursday.

In the Tongod case, police nabbed two local men, aged between 30 and 36, and seized the carcass of a deer, while in Tawau, three locals, aged between 29 and 49, were arrested by wildlife rangers and wardens, who seized the carcasses of five deer and chunks of meat.

“Kudos to the law enforcers. Such a concerted effort on their part is laudable. I was informed by the SWD Director (Augustine Tuuga) that the roadblock in Tawau was manned by our wildlife rangers who were assisted by Yayasan Sabah’s Wildlife Wardens.

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“And the arrest in Tongod was made by a police patrol team assisted by Rela members. They were on crime prevention and Covid-19 patrol under the movement control order (MCO),” Liew, who is also Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister said in a statement, here.

Liew said her message was that the act of ruthless poaching does not pay, and the culprits will eventually be caught up by the long arm of the law.

“I hope the arrests will serve as a deterrent to would-be perpetrators out there,” Liew said.

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The minister also thanked the people for their co-operation, saying that the arrest in Tawau came after a public tip-off.

She urged the law enforcement personnel to continue their relentless effort in pursuing other poachers who are possibly still at large.

According to Liew, both cases are being investigated for possession of protected species under the Sabah Wildlife Conservation Enactment 1997. — Bernama