SINGAPORE: A Singapore court today sentenced a South African man to two years in prison for smuggling rhino horn, the highest sentence ever handed down in the city-state for trafficking in wild animal parts. is the most severe sentence.
The man, named in court documents as Gumede Sembiso Joel, was arrested at Singapore’s Changi Airport in 2022 after authorities found 20 pieces of rhino horn weighing 34.7kg in his bag.
As he was traveling from South Africa to Laos via Singapore, a sniffer dog discovered contraband in his luggage.
The pieces were worth about S$1.2 million, making it the city-state’s largest seizure of rhino horn.
A 33-year-old man was sentenced after pleading guilty to two counts of passing with a rhino horn without a valid permit.
“This is the most severe sentence ever handed down in Singapore for a case involving the smuggling of wildlife parts,” the National Parks Board of Singapore (NParks) said in a statement today. Stated.
According to NParks, after undergoing forensic analysis, the 18 horn fragments were determined to belong to 15 different white rhinos, while the remaining two horn fragments belonged to one black rhino. It turns out that something happened.
District Judge Eddie Tam said he needed to “consider the impact” of the two rhino species involved when determining the appropriate sentence.
“The harm caused is clearly greater,” he said.
Rhinos are protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Washington State), and international trade in their horns is prohibited.
South Africa, home to almost 80% of the world’s rhinos, is a poaching hotspot fueled by demand from Asia.
The South African government announced that 448 rare animals were killed across the country in 2022, just three fewer than in 2021, despite increased protection in national parks.
Rhino horn is considered a status symbol and is believed to have medicinal properties in parts of Asia. They are also engraved on jewelry and household items such as combs, buttons, and belt buckles.