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FREE MALAYSIA TODAY (Petaling Jaya, Malaysia) 28 August 10 'Put King Lizard Wong behind bars' (Teoh El Sen)
Kuala Lumpur: Notorious animal smuggler “Lizard King” Anson Wong was arrested at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) on Thursday while he was on transit from Penang to Jakarta.
Wong, nicknamed “ Pablo Escobar of the wildlife trade” after the Colombian drug lord, is said to be the biggest global animal dealer.
It is believed that Malaysia Airlines security staff, who had been alerted, detained him after a piece of his luggage was broken. Wong has been remanded until Tuesday.
Some 100 snakes were found in his luggage, including boa constrictors, two rhinoceros vipers and one matamata turtle.
Said to be one of the world's most-wanted smugglers of wild animals, Wong was sentenced to 71 months in jail in the US in 2000 after he pleaded guilty to trafficking charges.
Animal rights groups have demanded the resignations of Natural Resources and Environment Minister Douglas Uggah, and Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) top leaders.
However, Perhilitan, now in charge of investigations, has not commented on the incident, but sources said it is attempting to track Wong's network.
Malaysian Animal Rights Society president N Surendran blamed the ministry and Perhilitan for "allowing" Wong to continue his trade after he was jailed in the US.
"The minister... and all top level Perhilitan officers should resign en bloc," Surendran said.
"This is the biggest embarrassment to our country for allowing the biggest wildlife trafficker on earth to trade freely,” he said.
“Malaysia has allowed him to use Penang as a base and although reports were lodged with the police and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, nothing was done, " Surendran said, adding that while Wong was in prison, Perhilitan had allegedly renewed his licence to trade.
"He was allowed to continue trading when he came back. Besides, he was allowed to operate two private zoos which are nothing more than wildlife trafficking hubs," he said.
He said while the US had spent a lot of efforts in the the sting operation, the Perhilitan deputy director-general Misliah Mohamad Basir still signed his licence.
"People high up in Perhilitan are protecting Wong. Now that he has been arrested, we want the fullest force of the law used against him. This man should be put behind bars, he is a danger to international wildlife," Surendran said.
Petpositive president Anthony Thanasayan said he agreed that Douglas and Perhilitan officers should resign.
"Perhilitan is supposed to protect the animals. But why did it allow Wong to continue his animal trade after he was convicted? Perhilitan knew it was dealing with another 'dangerous animal' here," he said.
"Perhilitan officials are just as guilty because they supported him instead of stopping him. They clearly thought they could get away with it. They are not fit to be in those positions, and we should clean Perhilitan up," Anthony said.
He added that Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak had recently adopted a cat and pronounced that he was an animal lover, and so "it's time all these politicians stop talking and show their love".
Malaysian Animal Welfare Society president Shenaaz Khan also took a swipe at Perhilitan.
"Perhilitan is being suspiciously quiet about this. What it did is like letting a serial rapist work in an all-girls school,” she said.
'Put King Lizard Wong behind bars'

MALAY MAIL (Malaysia) 30 August 10 No Perhilitan protection for 'Lizard King' - Wildlife Dept couldn't nab 'Lizard King' Wong without proof, until now (Ikram Ismail)
Kuala Lumpur: The Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) denies allegations it is protecting Anson Wong Keng Liang after he was arrested and jailed in the United States for 71 months in 2000.
"We are not protecting Wong. We could not detain him before as there was no evidence. However, that changed last Thursday," Perhilitan deputy director-general Misliah Mohamad Basir told The Malay Mail.
Notorious animal smuggler “Lizard King” Wong, who earned the nickname for reportedly being the biggest global animal dealer, was arrested at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport last Thursday while on transit from Penang to Jakarta.
Checks found his luggage contained 95 snakes, including boa constrictors, two rhinoceros vipers and one matamata turtle.
Misliah said: "We deny the accusation by Malaysian Animal Rights Society president N. Surendran. Perhilitan only approved a 'special licence' to Wong to take care of his own pets."
Surendran had blamed Sarawak's Environment and Public Health Ministry (MOEPH) and Perhilitan for "allowing" Wong to continue his wildlife trade.
"In our procedures for applying for such licences, an applicant must come to our office personally, so it was impossible for Wong to apply because he was jailed in the US at the time," said Misliah.
Wong was remanded for four days after Perhilitan obtained a magistrate's court warrant to detain him.
"Wong will be charged under Appendix II of the International Trade in Endangered Species Act 2008 which carries a maximum fine of RM100,000 for each animal found being smuggled, or imprisoned up to seven years, or both."
Wildlife Dept couldn't nab 'Lizard King' Wong without proof

THE STAR (Petaling Jaya, Malaysia) 07 September 10 I wanted to make my customer happy, says Wong
Sepang: Convicted international wildlife trafficker Anson Wong admitted that he exported 95 snakes without a permit because his customer was “pushing” him to deliver the reptiles before Hari Raya.
A composed Wong, 52, who was later jailed six months and fined RM190,000, told the Sessions Court here yesterday he wanted to please his customer, who insisted that he exported the boa constrictors.
“It was (done) in my haste to make my customer happy,” said the businessman when judge Zulhelmy Hasan asked him why he committed the offence.
When Zulhelmy told him that he should be held liable for his actions, Wong responded: “Ironically, the snakes are not an endangered species. They are not wild but are bred in captivity.”
The judge sentenced Wong, whose full name is Wong Keng Liang, to six months’ jail beginning yesterday.
Zulhelmy also ordered him to pay a RM2,000 fine for each of the 95 snakes, bringing the total fine to RM190,000, in default 12 months’ jail.
The judge also denied the defence’s application to return Wong’s laptop computer and handphone, which the prosecution claimed contained information about suspected illegal activities.
In mitigation, defence counsel M. Sivam said his client was repentant and promised not to repeat his offence.
“The animals were not hurt when they were seized and there were no losses incurred by any party,” he said.
Natural Resources and Environ­ment Ministry senior legal adviser Faridz Gohim Abdullah pointed out that the snakes were listed as an endangered species, adding that trafficking in the animals must be curbed to prevent extinction.
“Malaysia is known as a hub for smuggling animals because of people like the accused,” he said, adding that Wong’s offence had tainted the country’s image.
“We need to send a message to the accused and potential offenders that wildlife smuggling is not worth the risk,” Faridz said.
Last Wednesday, Wong, from Penang, pleaded guilty to exporting 95 boa constrictors without a permit at the KL International Airport at 8.50pm on Aug 26.
The snakes were found in a bag while Wong was in transit from Penang to Jakarta.
Wong was charged under Section 10(a) of the International Trade of Endangered Species Act.
Those convicted under this section faces a maximum RM100,000 fine for each animal listed under the Act, with the fine not exceeding RM1mil in aggregate, or imprisonment not exceeding seven years, or both.
It was reported in The Star that Wong was linked to a Dec 15 seizure in the United States of various types of animals from an exotic animal outlet. Two of the trader’s companies were found to have been supplying animals to the outlet.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) claimed that CBS Wildlife and Sungai Rusa Wildlife, both owned by Wong, were supplying various types of animals and wildlife.
Wong pleaded guilty to trafficking in wildlife in the United States in 2000 and was sentenced to 71 months’ jail.
I wanted to make my customer happy, says Wong