Lam, 36; Nguyen Trong Hung, 46; and Ngo Si Bac, 38, all residing in Nghe An province, have been prosecuted and detained for violating regulations on protecting endangered, precious, and rare animals, under Clause 2, Article 244 of the Penal Code. The procedural decisions were announced by Ha Tinh Provincial Police Investigation Agency on 13/8.
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The tiger carcass being removed from the bus roof on 26/7. Photo: Hung Le |
On 26/7, authorities discovered a custom-built compartment, measuring 3-4 square meters and 30-40 cm high, on the roof of a Laotian bus passing through Son Giang commune. Inside, they found a frozen tiger carcass weighing approximately 200 kg, along with a tiger skeleton.
The frozen tiger was identified as an endangered, precious, and rare wild animal, belonging to Group IB, and its commercial exploitation is strictly prohibited.
Lam, Hung, and Bac, employed by the Sau Hoa bus company, are accused of concealing the tiger carcass and skeleton in the bus's hidden compartment to transport them from Laos to Vietnam.
According to authorities, in some communes in Ha Tinh and Nghe An provinces, residents continue to illicitly purchase endangered wildlife, such as tigers and monkeys, to produce traditional medicine for sale, making detection challenging. One "lang" (about 37.5 grams) of tiger bone paste sells for around 18 million VND, while monkey bone paste fetches 400,000-500,000 VND.
Duc Hung
