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View all search resultsMan given 2-year prison term in Medan for selling protected sun bear
The sun bear is the world's smallest bear and is native to Indonesia and Malaysia.
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A sun bear is seen in a cage on July 24, 2018, at the Riau Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA) facility after being captured by villagers in Pekanbaru, Riau. (AFP/Wahyudi)
M
edan District Court sentenced a 49-year-old man to a two-year prison term for selling the carcass of a protected sun bear on social media.
The verdict was more lenient than the prosecutor’s demand of two years in prison with a fine of Rp 250 million (US$14,767), or an additional 90 days behind bars.
The panel of judges did not impose the fine given that defendant Ali Syahbana Munthe had not yet received the proceeds of his crime, as stipulated by the new Criminal Code and Criminal Code Procedures.
Judge Lenny Megawati Napitupulu in her sentencing statement said that the defendant was found guilty of violating Article 40A clause 1 of Law No. 5/1990 on the conservation of natural resources and ecosystem.
Responding to the sentence, Ali said he accepted the punishment while prosecutor Emmy Khairani Siregar from the Medan Prosecutor’s Office said she would consider whether to appeal.
Ali was arrested by the Medan City Police’ Crime Investigation (Reskrim) Unit at a bus ticket booth on Jl. Sunggal in Medan on Oct. 8, 2025.
He was nabbed while carrying a big box containing a sun bear that had been preserved through taxidermy, which was to be sent to Aceh.
