U.S. expedition team fined

U.S. expedition team fined

KUALA LUMPUR (AP): Two scientists and 14 cave explorers from
the United States have been fined 20,000 ringgit ($5,260) for
collecting rare invertebrates from a Borneo rain forest without a
permit, a government official said Saturday.

State authorities imposed the maximum fine on the expedition
from the Alabama-based National Speleological Society after the
scientists acknowledged on Friday to collecting 600 biological
specimens from the Gunung Buda Gunung Buda forest reserve in
Sarawak state, the official said.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the
scientists did not have proper papers, confirming reports from
several reports in local newspapers.

The two men were not arrested when they were caught Thursday.
All 16 expedition members flew back to the United States from
Sarawak state early Saturday, she said.

Officials refused to release the names of the scientists.

The expedition, which arrived here on Jan. 31, had applied for
a permit to collect wildlife but their applications had not been
approved yet. Instead, they were allowed to conduct six weeks of
mapping and surveying work in the Gunung Buda.