Two Agarwood Smugglers Jailed For 16 Months

Two men have been jailed for 16 months for illegally importing agarwood into Hong Kong from Indonesia, with the judge saying the punishment would have been stricter had the prosecutor been able to prove that the seized wood was illegally logged.

Customs officers arrested Lin Bing, 32, and Li Wenjian, 51, on August 16 last year, after finding a total of 41.8 kilogrammes of agarwood in their luggage as they arrived at Hong Kong airport.

Both had pleaded guilty to the smuggling charge last week.

The District Court heard that the pair, who hail from the mainland, bought the products from a shop in Indonesia. But they didn't obtain the necessary paperwork for the wood.

Judge Josiah Lam said he couldn't accept the men's claim that they didn't know they were breaking the law.

He noted, however, that because the prosecution hadn't identified the specific type of agarwood confiscated, the court could not decide how endangered it is or whether it had come from illegal logging.

Responding to the court case, environmental group ADM Capital Foundation said it was encouraging to see that the courts are delving deeper into the criminality involved in wildlife smuggling, and raising awareness of the need to improve Hong Kong's forensic expertise on endangered species.