Hong Kong hands down its stiffest sentence yet for pangolin scale smuggling
- Two mainland Chinese men given 21 and 27 months in jail for trafficking in the critically endangered animal
- They were found at the airport with 100kg of scales worth an estimated HK$400,000
A Hong Kong court has handed down the city’s harshest penalty yet for smuggling pangolin scales, sentencing two mainland Chinese men to 21 and 27 months in jail for trafficking 100kg of the scales.
The outer layer of the critically endangered animal is highly prized in traditional Chinese medicine, despite the lack of proof of its effectiveness in treating ailments.
Zhang Guozhu, 47, from Fujian province, and Ding Wei, 21, from Zhejiang province, pleaded guilty to smuggling pangolin scales worth about HK$400,000 (US$51,610).
“Although the defendants did not kill the mammals with their own hands, they played an important role in the commercial activities in selling pangolin scales,” Deputy District Judge Ernest Lin Kam-hung said in handing down the sentences. “Their responsibilities are the same with those who killed these mammals.”
Customs officers intercepted the two men at Hong Kong airport on July 17, 2019. They were arrested for violating the Protection of Endangered Species of Animals and Plants Ordinance after failing to produce the requisite permit.
Ding, who was working in the Democratic Republic of Congo as a gold trader, had arrived from Kinshasa and was carrying about 100kg of scales in four suitcases. He said he was instructed by another man who promised to give him 12,000 yuan (US$1,690) for bringing the luggage to Hong Kong, and upon arrival was asked to hand over two suitcases containing 50.02kg in scales to Zhang, who had arrived from Xiamen in Fujian.
