A Shaanxi farmer's conviction for fraud for faking a photo of an endangered South China tiger has failed to silence critics, who believe he was merely a scapegoat in the saga.
Various websites have carried postings with queries, with some suggesting that even though farmer Zhou Zhenglong might be involved in the scandal, it was highly likely other accomplices - such as local officials who wanted to take advantage of the apparent discovery of the rare species - were involved.
Last Saturday, a court sentenced the 54-year-old farmer to 21/2 years in prison and fined him 2,000 yuan (HK$2,251). Zhou said he fabricated the tiger photos by himself and no one else was involved. The trial lasted about five hours.
He also said he took the photos in October last year. When the shot was published the case caught nationwide attention, as the tiger was thought to be nearly extinct. He was later awarded 20,000 yuan by the provincial forestry department.
Zhou's wife, Luo Dacui, insisted yesterday that her husband was innocent and pledged to lodge an appeal.
'However, the court hasn't given me the judgment yet, so we can't lodge an appeal as we need the document to do so,' Ms Luo said, expressing worries that they might not be able to file the appeal in time as there were only five days to go before the appeal period ended.
She complained that Zhang Yong, Zhou's lawyer, had not tried his best in his defence, and also questioned his decision not to lodge an appeal on Zhou's behalf. Mr Zhang had cited the public's doubts over his impartiality for why he would not appeal.
