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‘I thought it was a monkey’: Russian defendant regrets attempt to smuggle orangutan
The prosecutor demanded a sentence of six months in prison.
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Russian citizen Andrei Zhestkov, 27, sits next to his interpreter during the reading of the sentence demand at Denpasar District Court on Tuesday. During the hearing he also read his defense of an alleged attempt to smuggle a protected orangutan outside Indonesia. (JP/Ni Komang Erviani)
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prosecutor demanded on Tuesday that the Denpasar District Court sentence a Russian man, Andrei Zhestkov, 27, to six months in prison for trying to smuggle an orangutan from Bali.
Prosecutor AA Made Suara Teja Buana also demanded that the judge fine him Rp 5 million (US$353) or serve an additional 1 month's imprisonment if he failed to pay the fine.
"The defendant's act goes against the government's program on protecting animals in Indonesia," said prosecutor Teja Buana.
The prosecutor also considered some mitigating factors. "The defendant has admitted his act and shows remorse. The defendant is polite in court," he added.
The prosecutor's demand was much lighter than the maximum sentence of five years carried under the 1990 Conservation Law.
Zhestkov responded to the prosecutor's demand by conveying his defense statement. He said he felt regret for what he had done.
"I feel regret. I didn't know that orangutans were not allowed to be taken out of Indonesia. I really love orangutans. So sorry," Zhestkov said in Russian.
