KUCHING: An Indonesian woman was sentenced to one month in jail by Sessions Court after she pleaded guilty to illegal possession of sea turtle eggs.
Asnawati Ahmad, 59, was nabbed at a parking lot near Pasar Serikin at 9.40am by Sarawak Forestry Corporation (SFC) officers who were patrolling the market, located near the Kalimantan, Indonesia border.
Sessions Court Judge Mohd Taufik Moh meted out the sentence which commenced from the date of her arrest, May 18.
SFC in a statement said the woman was caught red-handed with 135 eggs belonging to the Olive Ridley Sea Turtle species, believed to be ready for sale.
For the offence, she was charged under Section 29(1) of the Wild Life Protection Ordinance, 1998 and punishable under Section 29(1)(c) which carries a maximum of two years imprisonment and a fine of RM25,000 upon conviction.
The Olive Ridley Sea Turtle or Lepidochelys olivacea is listed as protected marine species under Wild Life Protection Ordinance, 1998.