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KOTA KINABALU – Members of the Bajau Laut community dubbed locally as the Palauh are believed to be behind the 11 brutally killed turtles found in Kg Amboh-Amboh, Semporna last Friday.
Sabah Wildlife Department director Augustine Tuuga said members of the Palauh people are the most likely suspects of the crime, but enforcement authorities are facing a difficult time catching them as they are hard to pin down.
“This kind of incident happens regularly in Semporna, often perpetrated by the Palauh who are undocumented. However, it is difficult for the enforcement to catch them because they use small boats that can easily land on any island,” he said in a statement today.
Last Friday, the department and General Operations Force made a gruesome discovery in an integrated operation at about 9.41am when they found 11 green turtles’ shells, along with two sacks filled with turtle meat.
The team also found a hook, stove, frying pan, knife, cleaver, and whetstone at the scene.
No suspect was found during the discovery, and the team is still actively hunting the culprit.
“We raided a hotspot area the next day to find the suspect, but no arrest was made,” he said.
Augustine asked for the help of the public to report or supply information to the department on turtle poaching in Semporna.
The Palauh community – also known as sea gypsies – are sea-faring nomads who traditionally live on boats at sea most of their lives.
Most of them are in Semporna, Tawau, and Lahad Datu. They came to Sabah in the 1970s to escape war in the Philippines.
On July 6 this year, the Integrated Khazanah Operation arrested a man with 12 pieces of turtle shells, 39 turtle scales, and 4.8 kilograms of turtle fat.
The man was charged at court, sentenced to four years’ jail and fined RM150,000. – The Vibes, April 10, 2021
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