TENOM – Enforcement officers have arrested four men suspected of illegal hunting in the Ulu Tomani Forest Reserve near here last night.
Battalion 14 of the Sabah General Operation Force (GOF) detained the suspects aged between 18 and 22 about 11pm in an operation codenamed Op Bersepadu Khazanah (OBK).
Personnel from the Wildlife Department and World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) were also part of the operation.
State GOF commander Senior Assistant Commissioner Mohd Abduh Ismail said in a statement that three home-made shotguns – largely known in Sabah as bakakuk – and 17 bullets were also seized from the suspects.
The men were on their way into the forest reserve on motorcycles when they were arrested.
“They are all locals from a nearby village. All four men were brought to the Tenom police station for further action after being arrested,” he said here today.
Abduh said items worth RM20,970 were confiscated from the suspects, adding the probe will come under Section 8 of the Arms Act 1960.
He said the suspects face up to seven years’ jail and fine not exceeding RM10,000, or both, upon conviction. – The Vibes, August 31, 2021
