SONGKHLA : Three gecko traders yesterday filed false arrest charges against the police who mistakenly believed their reptiles were protected wildlife species.

Police held the men all day on Friday for possessing protected goods, finally releasing them when they realised their mistake.

The men - Kitti Jitwichai, 28, Thaworn Pisadukit, 26, and Pinyo Jannuan, 18 - were found with 200 geckos as they were on their way to the border with Malaysia.

They were released when wildlife experts confirmed the geckos were not wild species prohibited from trading and possession under law as understood by the police.

However, the traders say their day-long detention cost them a loss of trade.

The geckos lost weight and many died while being held by police. The traders have filed seven charges against police, including unfair detention, causing damage to assets and causing psychological trauma.

Police stopped the men at a checkpoint on Lop Buri Rames Road in Hat Yai district on Thursday.

The officers, led by deputy Hat Yai police chief Kittichai Sangkathaworn, suspected the vehicle was used to hide protected wild animals.

An inspection found 10 boxes of geckos. The men said they caught the reptiles in Chiang Mai's Mae Ai district and took them to Songkhla's Sadao district near the Thai-Malaysian border, where they hoped to sell them.

The officers charged the men with illegal possession of wild animals.

But experts at Ton Nga Chang Wildlife Sanctuary in Hat Yai found the reptiles, which are Tokay geckos or house geckos, are not protected by law.

Media reports say geckos are popular in Malaysia because cells from the reptiles' tails serve as ingredients in medicines.
www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/207399/police-face-lawsuit-over-case-of-the-wrong-reptile

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• Lawsuit over case of the wrong reptile - EricWI, Sun Nov 21 16:31:09 2010