Thailand’s National Anti-Corruption Commission is preparing to prosecute Science Minister Plodprasob Surassawadi over his decision to approve the export of 100 tigers to China while he was head of the Royal Forestry Department (RFD) in 2003.
The NACC ruled that the export constituted an abuse of authority.
Plodprasob insists that the “allegations are untrue” and that he is “currently immune to legal prosecution because he was an MP carrying out his duty during the ongoing parliamentary session”, according to The Nation.
However, the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) spokesperson said that the prosecution documents have already been drafted.
We have already drafted the prosecution documents. We can start the prosecution as soon as the NACC hands over the suspect.
The tigers were sent to “Chinese zoos“, where 20 of them have since died.
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Rhishja Cota
I am the founder of Annamiticus and I have been researching and writing about wildlife trafficking issues since 2009. I also founded World Pangolin Day in 2012. I am the author of USAID Wildlife Asia's Pangolin Species Identification Guide: A Rapid Assessment Tool for Field and Desk. I co-facilitated and was a presenter at the USAID Wildlife Asia Pangolin Care Workshop. At the 4th Regional Dialogue on Combating Trafficking of Wild Fauna and Flora, I facilitated the species roundtables on pangolins. I have trekked with forest rangers in Cambodia, journeyed to the streets of Hanoi to research the illegal wildlife trade, and to the rainforests of Sumatra and Java to document the world’s rarest rhinos. At CITES meetings, I collaborate with colleagues from around the world to lobby in favor of protecting endangered species. I hosted the Behind the Schemes podcast and am the author of the book Murder, Myths & Medicine. I enjoy music, desert gardening, herping, reading, creating, and walking with my dogs. Check out my t-shirts and stickers at snoots + teefers.