3 Vietnamese arrested for hunting, selling endangered leopard cat

Taipei, June 7 (CNA) Three undocumented Vietnamese workers have been arrested for illegally hunting and selling endangered leopard cats in Taiwan, and one of them has been ordered detained, the Taichung District Prosecutors Office said Saturday.

Prosecutors said they formed a task force after receiving reports of the illegal hunting and sale of the endangered endemic species.

In April, an investigation was launched into the suspected sale of a leopard cat carcass in Taichung's Houli District, and the task force later identified three suspects surnamed Phan, Nguyễn, and Phạm as possibly being involved in the crime.

Nguyễn and Phạm were arrested at the end of May and were put on electronic monitoring devices, the office said.

The task force searched for Phan with a search warrant at three locations on Wednesday, but the man threatened the police by aiming a gun at them and fled, prosecutors said.

The police eventually apprehended the man on Thursday and seized four self-made shotguns and tools used to make the guns.

Prosecutors said Phan is strongly suspected of making and possessing illegal firearms without a license, which carries a minimum sentence of five years.

He may have also violated the Wildlife Conservation Act and could face intimidation charges, prosecutors said.

Describing Phan as a flight risk and capable of colluding with others to tamper with evidence, they filed a motion to detain him with the Taichung District Court following his questioning on Friday night.

The court granted the request later that night.

Phan had gone unaccounted for since October 2020 and is believed to have hunted animals in mountainous areas, selling them through accomplices, according to prosecutors.