JOHOR BARU: Two Indonesian odd-job workers were slapped with a total fine of RM60,000 by the Sessions Court here after pleading guilty to possessing 247 white-rumped shama birds.

The accused Aat Yudiatno, 49, and Ernawan Hadianto, 25, pleaded guilty to keeping the birds, which are protected under the First Schedule of the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010 (Act 716), in a bus storage compartment.

The third accused Yusof Misoun, 61, a local who was driving the bus that was ferrying the species, however, pleaded not guilty to all three charges.

In the first charge, they were said to have possessed 214 of the white-rumped shamas at KM32.8 southbound of the North-South Expressway near the Kulai rest area around 6.10pm on March 14.

They were charged under Section 60(2) of the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010, which carries a minimum fine of RM20,000 and not more than RM50,000, or up to a three-year jail term or both.

In second and third charges, they allegedly kept three hatchlings and 30 females of the same species at the same time and place.

For these, they were charged under Section 61 and Section 62 of the same Act, which carries a fine of not more than RM100,000 or maximum five years imprisonment or both.

During mitigation, Aat and Ernawan’s lawyer Muhammad Ashraff Mohd Diah pleaded for minimum fine, saying the duo were not the main syndicates and took up the job just for a day’s pay.

DPP Shamsul Hakim Ahmad, who prosecuted the case, however, appealed for heavier sentence to serve as a lesson to the accused and the general public.

Judge Kamarudin Kamsun slapped each Indonesian with RM20,000 fine for the first charge and RM5,000 for each of the second and third offences.

He later fixed April 6 for Yusof’s next mention and set bail at RM5,000.

Yusof was represented by lawyer Mohd Tarmeze Mohd Taib.-thestar