Man gets 6 week prison for smuggling 105 reptiles into Hong Kong
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Turtles are displayed during a press conference by authorities in Hong Kong on July 31, 2012 six weeks after they were intercepted at the city's airport in a passenger's luggage. Hong Kong was to return around 100 endangered reptiles, including turtles, lizards and a python to the Philippines on Aug 1. A 22-year-old man detained was imprisoned for six weeks. -- PHOTO: AFP
HONG KONG (AFP) - Scores of endangered reptiles including turtles and a python that were smuggled into Hong Kong will be returned to their native Philippines on Wednesday, officials said.
A 22-year-old man is serving a six-week prison sentence for smuggling the 105 reptiles into the city packed in plastic containers inside his checked-in luggage on June 14, the officials said.
The 39 Philippine pond turtles, 46 South-east Asian box turtles, 19 Mindanao water monitor lizards and one reticulated python required specialist care before they could be shipped home.
"It was difficult for them to breathe," Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden head of fauna conservation Gary Ades said.
