Thai Rhino Horn Trader Gets 40 Years In S. Africa Jail

[webfact]

Thai rhino horn trader gets 40 years in S. Africa jail

JOHANNESBURG, Nov 09, 2012 (AFP) - A Thai national who pled guilty to organising bogus trophy hunts to sell rhino horns on the international black market was sentenced to 40 years in a South African jail on Friday.

Chumlong Lemtongthai received the unusually harsh sentence from a Johannesburg magistrate court amid a record number of rhino poaching deaths this year, government prosecutors said.

Lemtongthai pleaded guilty to paying prostitutes who posed as hunters in order to harvest the horns, which were then sold on Asia's lucrative traditional medicine market.

The group is thought to have netted around 26 rhino horns.

In handing down the sentence, the judge said he did not want his grandchildren to grow up without being able to see rhinos, according to EyeWitness News

South African officials say 528 rhinos have been killed already this year, shattering previous records.

National Prosecuting Authority spokeswoman Phindi Louw welcomed the ruling.

"It will send a strong message that as South Africans, we will do everything in our power to preserve our heritage," she told AFP.

"We believe it's an appropriate sentence that will be able to send a message that as a country we will never tolerate people who come in our country, unlawfully so, with the purpose of destroying our wildlife."

Lemtongthai can now appeal his sentence.

Environment minister Edna Molewa had called for Lemtongthai to receive a "stricter sentence" than usual with the seeking a 260 year sentence.

-- (c) Copyright AFP 2012-11-09

[RedRoadRunner]

...well done.....these guys don't deserve any better...killing animals for making dubious personal profits ....

and endangering a whole line of a species which are close to extinction already anyway......

[chainarong]

So he bloody well should get 40years, I'd give the prick 100years, the Arsole

[fstarbkk]

Yup, put 'em away! Wish things like this were handled the same way in K. Chumlong's homeland.

Alas, in Thailand he probably would have gotten a 1000 Baht fine, reduced by half for admitting he did it, after being caught red-handed.

[catmac]

Well done to all those involved in removing this piece of human excrement from society. Wild life poachers get no sympathy whatsoever from me, throwing them to the lions would be an ideal way of dealing with them.

[jerrysteve]

I think I would rather see him in an enclosed ring with an angry Rhino...and the Rhino gore the living poop out of him

[theblether]

Excellent news..........these guys are killing our natural world, and to go into reserves to hunt the animals is a crime against all humanity, and a crime against nature, and I'm not exaggerating.

40 years sounds about right to me, hopefully in 40 years time we will still have rhinos roaming free.

[fstarbkk]

I think I would rather see him in an enclosed ring with an angry Rhino...and the Rhino gore the living poop out of him

Oh, don't worry. After a few months in a South African prison he'll most likely welcome any opportunity to end his miserable existence, even with the help of an angry rhino!

Edited November 9, 2012 by fstarbkk

[chooka]

40 yrs is that all, a slap on the wrist if you ask me. I hope they cut of his horn as well

[bigbamboo]

The revenge of the rhinos.

[Penangfreak]

Well done! Lock them up and loose the keys....PF

[Semper]

What happened to the rest of the group and the hookers?

[ratcatcher]

Her's the rhino killer. He will be in old age, if/when he gets out. South Africa is attempting to preserve their wildlife unlike Thailand.

May he and his accomplices rot in jail.

Story here:

http://www.iol.co.za...74#.UJzpg2eMtyk

Edited November 9, 2012 by ratcatcher

[Vinny1967]

It's not just the ones who organize the hunts that should be punished,but the bastards who take part in it.These rich idiots who go out on hunting safaris just for the thrill of killing an elephant or rhino.Shoot them with their own guns.

[GentlemanJim]

Welcome to justice the rest of the world style. One thing I can be absolutely sure of....no matter how much money he hs he WILL NOT be out on bail while he appeals his sentence, and there will be no annual Kings amnesty and reduction in time.

[Beng]

40 years, I doubt he will ever think about the trade again. well deserved.

Unfortunately, Thai authoritie's fines are way too lax.

[asiawatcher]

Poachers of any kind are and should be treated as, animals. Cage them, let then wallow in their own feces and fluids, feed them the same way. Greed motivation needs to be put down and nothing surprising a Thai national was caught. Pity the SA Police could not operate here.

[surangw]

treat it as a drug offense, execute him.

[15Peter20]

40 years? Far too soft on the guy!

He should be made to don a rhino outfit, get dumped out in the veldt drenched in rhino musk and introduced to rhino dating South African style. Then he should be executed and his bones ground up and put in local medicinal cures. Then all those wraps of medicine should carry a public health warning that it contains essence of rhino poacher which will guarantee it won't sell. Then the unsold batches of rhino poacher dust should be ejected from this world on board the next space launch and released into the black void. After that, the wondering powder of his remains should rain back down into the atmosphere - mostly burning up - but some falling back to some grassy meadow where cattle will eat the grass it falls on and produce milk to be drunk by a newly born babe, thereby providing the ungodly poacher's only hope of redemption.

On second thoughts, that may be too good for him.

[Nisa]

Welcome to justice the rest of the world style. One thing I can be absolutely sure of....no matter how much money he hs he WILL NOT be out on bail while he appeals his sentence, and there will be no annual Kings amnesty and reduction in time.

Actually S.A. you can buy justice much easier than Thailand. This case also involved a S.A. whose made millions allowing the Thais to hunt the Rhinos on his land but he was granted bail and then the charges against him dropped.

http://m.iol.co.za/article/view/s/11/a/322181

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/world_now/2012/11/south-african-court-sentences-foreign-rhino-horn-smuggler-to-40-years-jail.html

http://www.timeslive.co.za/thetimes/2012/11/06/rhino-kingpin-guilty

Edited November 9, 2012 by Nisa

[FOODLOVER]

Lucky he wasn't trying to cut down a tree to feed his family. Execution on the spot, Thai style.

[Somtamnication]

He should die a slow death with all nine rhino horns up where the sun don´t shine.

[rfukata]

I think I would rather see him in an enclosed ring with an angry Rhino...and the Rhino gore the living poop out of him

perhaps a baboon cage, more like his relatives.

[jerrysteve]

Thebletcher: You are correct...and there are unfortunately many more like him including, dead elephants who are butcherd torchred for their ivory; 1000s of species already non-existent on this planet of ours;& 1000s of plant species that have been raped by the development of cities in South America and other parts of this world. The only place except now visible are in Books.

[catmac]

Ratcatcher, thanks for posting those photos revealing the true horror of this evil trade. I hope they will haunt those bleeding-hearts on this board who seem to feel some sympathy with the human vermin involved.

[jojodontyouknow]

Yup, put 'em away! Wish things like this were handled the same way in K. Chumlong's homeland.

Alas, in Thailand he probably would have gotten a 1000 Baht fine, reduced by half for admitting he did it, after being caught red-handed.

That's what's so sad.

[metisdead]

An off topic post has been removed as well as a post containing a graphic video.

[arch77778]

What a lucky chap rather 40 years in the SA Hilton than 40 years in the Thai Hilton.

[TradeMark]

What a lucky chap rather 40 years in the SA Hilton than 40 years in the Thai Hilton.

Prison system back in RSA makes the Thai system look like child's play for long term sentences... I have done in house volunteer work and investigation into the numbers gangs in the prisons country wide. There is honestly no word to describe it. A Thai national entering any of the prisons without some sort of in country backing won't survive his sentence... period.

Deserved as in my eyes this is a more heinous crime than just about anything in the human capacity.

[TradeMark]

Also some perspective... The negativity on TV towards the Thai police is in a similar vein to the RSA nationals negativity towards the RSA police back home.

A situation like this is great for foreign eyes looking in with no perspective but the truth of the matter is that the RSA police are below par at best. (Coming from someone who worked with them on more than 1 occasion).

Kills in the hundreds of a highly endangered species so valuable to our heritage that it is embedded in numerous secondary coat of arms and even on our currency. Yet no new laws or structures have been put in place? No increased action has been taken on this matter besides private groups pressures and the convictions are a bare percentile compared to the total instances of crime relating to this issue. 40yrs sentence of a foreign national looks great to the press and people around the world but behind closed doors its an easy way to make it look like a job is being done when in fact it probably fell into their laps and they decided they needed some relief of pressure and acted accordingly.

I applaud my countries courts and police officers for finally serving up some justice but the truth of the matter is less than nothing is actually being done and zero initiative is active against this heinous and continuously worsening crime back home in South Africa.