THE court sentenced a poacher to 12 years in prison after he was found guilty of killing at least six critically endangered Javan rhinos.
The rhinoceros endemic to Indonesia’s most populous island is one of the world’s most endangered mammals, with authorities believing there are around 82 remaining in the wild.
It comes as the Indonesian government and police reportedly investigate the claims of a captured poacher that a single gang was responsible for the deaths of 26 Javan rhinos since 2019, nearly a quarter of what was the animal’s total population.
“The defendant has been convincingly found guilty,” the presiding judge told a court in Java’s Banten province, adding he would be fined 100 million rupiah (RM28,700).
“He has killed, kept, and traded parts of protected wildlife,” the judge added.
The perpetrator, named Sunendi, was convicted of killing the rhinos between 2019 and 2023 in Java’s Ujung Kulon National Park.
Prosecutors had only sought a five-year jail term but court spokesman Panji Aswinartha said the sentence was harsher because Sunendi was also found guilty of arms possession and theft. — AFP
