1 year for illegal turtle dealer

DENPASAR, Bali: The Denpasar District Court sentenced on Wednesday a 46-year-old man to one year of imprisonment for illegally trading green turtles (Chelonia mydas).

The court also fined Widji Zakaria, alias Wewe, Rp 3 million for the offense.

Judge Ngakan Putu Menuh said that the court had adequate evidence to prove that the defendant had conducted illegal activities, including poaching, transporting and selling green turtles.

"The activities are against Law No. 5/1990 on natural resource conservation," he said.

Public prosecutor Paino had earlier demanded that the court sentence the defendant to 17 months in prison.

The defendant's lawyer, Mandi Widiana, said that he would probably appeal.

It was the second trial of green turtle trading in Bali. Several weeks earlier Maliyani, 45, a skipper on one of Wewe's boats, was sentenced to eight months in prison for illegally transporting green turtles.

He was arrested on Oct. 4 of last year in waters off Tanjung Benoa, a harbor village some 30 kilometers south of here. Maliyani had just returned from a poaching expedition in Sulawesi and was caught with around 93 live green turtles on the boat he commanded. His capture led to the later arrest of Widji Zakaria.

Turtle trading is a very lucrative business in Bali. The street price for one green turtle can reach as high as Rp 500,000. The authorities have reported that more than 10,000 turtles are traded every year.

A report released by the Malang-based NGO Animal Conservation for Life said that around 28,000 turtles were traded in Bali in the year 1999 alone. (zen)