Rhino Horn Smuggler Jailed For Nine Months

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2019-01-29 HKT 12:41

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  Tougher penalties for wildlife smuggling came into effect in Hong Kong last May after the city became a hub for rhino horn and ivory trade. File photo: AFP

The District Court has sentenced a 27-year-old man to nine months behind bars for smuggling rhino horns that could have been sold for more than HK$1 million on the black market.

Zhao Zhengxin, who is from the mainland, had pleaded guilty to importing specimens of endangered animals.

Zhao was caught at the airport in October carrying 2.9 kilogrammes of rhino horns, hidden inside aluminium foil bags packed inside a red wine box.

The three cut pieces of rhino horns were estimated to worth between HK$784,000 and HK$1.6 million.

Judge Stanley Chan said he doesn't accept Zhao's claims that he bought the rhino horns from South Africa for medicinal purposes for his uncle, who's suffering from cancer.

Chan said a deterrent sentence was necessary to reflect the legislative purpose of tougher penalties that came into effect last May.