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1 Orang Asli Matters

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16 September 2013

The Ipoh High Court dismissed the prosecution’s appeal against the Magistrates Court’s discharge and release of four Orang Asli charged with shooting a tiger, without them having to enter their defence.

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www.ipohecho.com.my

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TAPAH, 11 Okt — Yok Kalong Bah Rapee, 51, (dua, kiri) menunjukkan kesan cakaran harimau pada belakang badan sahabatnya Yok Meneh Yok Din 49, di perkarangan Majistret Tapah di sini, hari ini. Empat orang Asli daripada suku Semai dilepas dan dibebaskan tanpa dipanggil membela diri oleh Mahkamah Majistret di sini hari ini atas tuduhan menembak mati seekor Harimau Belang (Panthera Tigris), dua tahun lepas. Mereka ialah Yok Kalong Bah Rapee, 51, Yok Mat a/l Bah Chong, 46, Hassan a/l Bah Ong, 33, dan Yok Rayau a/l Yok Senian, 50, dari Sungkai. Mereka dituduh menembak binatang liar yang dilindungi itu menggunakan senapang patah di Hutan Rizab Bukit Tapah di sini pada 4 Februari 2012. –fotoBERNAMA (2012) HAKCIPTA TERPELIHARA

www.thestar.com.my

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Celebration! Four Orang Asli acquitted by Court is a Time of Joy …weehingthong.wordpress.com960 

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17 September 2013

Star

Tuesday September 17, 2013 MYT 10:28:23 PM

Court dismisses prosecution’s appeal in Orang Asli tiger shooting case

IPOH: The Ipoh High Court Tuesday dismissed the prosecution’s appeal against the Magistrates Court’s discharge and release of four Orang Asli charged with shooting a tiger, without having to enter their defence.

The respondents’ lawyer Amani Williams-Hunt Abdullah said Judge Datuk Zainal Adzam Abdul Ghani held that the evidence submitted in the prosecution’s written appeal was not strong enough.

“The main witness did not see the accused shooting the tiger and there was no evidence that the bullet came from the rifle which was purportedly used to shoot it,” said the lawyer.

On Oct 11 last year, the Tapah Magistrates Court discharged and released without having to enter their defence four Orang Asli from the Semai tribe of shooting a tiger on Feb 4 2010.

Bernama

http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Nation/2013/09/17/orang-asil-tiger-shoot-dismissed.aspx …

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Saturday, 27 October 2012

In celebratory mood: the Orang Asli held a thanksgiving to celebrate the acquittal at the Magistrate’s Court in Tapah of the four men accused of killing a tiger illegally.

The place was Kampong Chang Sungai Gepai, Bidor.

Everyone gathered at the Dewan Adat.

The two lawyers who fought their case pro bono, Augustine Anthony and Bah Tony, were guests of honour. This blogger was privileged to be invited by one of the guests of honour to witness the event.

The four men (Yok Rayau Yok Senian, Yok Kalong Bah Papee, Yok Mat Bah Chong and Hassan Bah Ong0  and the two lawyers (Bah Tony and Augustine Anthony).

Yok Meneh, the man with the tiger scars!

Group photos

A token of appreciation for Augustine Anthony

A token of appreciation for Bah Tony

*Learn more about Bah Tony, defender of the Orang Asli, their champion!

www.mmail.com.my/story/bahs-resignation-blow-dap-34039 – Cached

Bah, whose real name is Amani William-Hunt Abdullah, was seen as the best candidate to challenge MCA’s Datuk Dr Mah Hang Soon in Chenderiang, which has Perak’s largest number of orang asli voters.

mediaperak.com/2012/10/18/perak-daps-rising-star-quits… – Cached

my.news.yahoo.com/bah-not-reconsider-decision-050300733.html – Cached

Here is Bah Tony with several Orang Asli

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This is a special moment: Augustine Anthony and Tijah Yok Chopil.

*Learn more about Tijah:

www.wildasia.org/main.cfm/library/Tijah_Chopil – Cached

2 Tijah: Seluruh pentadbiran Orang Asli sudah tercemar – YouTube

Speaking to reporters at a joint press conference with the Bar Council, Peninsular Malaysia Orang Asli Network coordinator Tijah Yok Chopil called on Najib to …

www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NEXOg_YA8M – Cached

.Play Video

*Learn more about Augustine Anthony

1 THE PERAK BAR BLOG: AUGUSTINE ANTHONY APPOINTED LEGAL ADVISOR …

perakbar.blogspot.com/2008/08/augustine–anthony… – Cached

www.perakspeak.com/v2/commentaarticles/augustine–anthony… – Cached
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The folks of Kampong Chang, Sungei Gepai, Bidor prepared a wonderful feast for all who came!

Long before the gathering started, women and men were busy preparing the feast.

WHAT A FEAST WE HAD!

Two guests who appreciated their meal…

The children are healthy and happy. Could there be another Tijah Yok Chopil among these intelligent girls?

Or could there be a leader of men among these Orang Asli boys?

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• NTV 7 News

  http://www.ntv7.com.my/7edition/local-en/TIGER_SHOOTING_CHARGE_FOUR_ORANG_ASLI_MEN_ACQUITTED.html

• 

  TIGER-SHOOTING CHARGE:FOUR ORANG ASLI MEN ACQUITTED

  www.ntv7.com.my

  In Perak, four Orang Asli were acquitted and discharged by the Tapah Magistrate’s Court today for shooting a tiger two years ago without calling for their defence.
  Share

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Malay Mail

FOUR orang asli men, who had shot a tiger to save their friend from being attacked, were acquitted and discharged by the magistrate’s court here yesterday on charges of killing a protected species.

Magistrate Fairuz Adiba Ismail said the prosecution failed to proof a prima facie case against Yok Rayau Yok Senian, Yok Kalong Bah Papee, Yok Mat Bah Chong and Hassan Bah Ong, from an orang asli settlement near Sungkai.

Some 30 orang asli, dressed in their traditional headgear and accessories, had gathered at the court building to provide moral support.

The four had been charged on Oct 27, 2010, and had claimed trial for shooting the tiger on Feb 4, 2010 between 8am and 1pm.

They were charged under the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, for killing an animal protected and listed under the act.

It was reported in the media that the four and another friend, Yok Meneh Yok Din, 47, had gone to the Bukit Tapah forest reserve to collect jungle produce when a tiger attacked Yok Meneh.

One of the four then shot the tiger dead.

Earlier, counsel for the accused, Augustine Anthony and Amani Williams Hunt, reinstated their written submissions to the court, pointing out some discrepancies during the trial.

These included details concerning the weapon used to shoot the tiger and the testimony of the veterinary officer.

There were shouts of joy outside the courtroom when news filtered in about the acquittal.

Yok Mat told reporters he was the one who shot the tiger.

“Although it happened two years ago, the incident is still fresh in our minds. That was the first time we saw a tiger up close. We panicked when the tiger started to attack our friend,” said the father of five.

Eight prosecution witnesses testified in the trial.

Four orang asli freed of tiger shooting charge | The Malay Mailwww.mmail.com.my/story/four-orang–asli-freed-tiger… – Cached 

See also
Kuala Lumpur News – Four orang asli acquitted of killing tigerwww.kualalumpurnews.net/index.php/sid/209949847/scat/48… – Cached

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EcoMalaysia

Traumatic Start to Year of the Tiger

The run up to the Chinese year of the Tiger has been especially turbulent in Malaysia thanks to a series of high profile stories causing widespread outrage.

Allow me to introduce Yok Meneh (pictured seated). Yok – an orang asli or Malay aboriginal got his 5 minutes of fame after he was admitted to hospital for treatment following an apparent Tiger attack in Perak. He even had the nerve to smile as he was photographed, elaborate on his lies and pose with his injuries.

According to the Star newspaper on 7th February 2010:

Orang Asli Yok Meneh has been foraging in the forest for years bringing home petai and other vegetation. Yesterday, the usual uneventful trek became a harrowing one for the Semai when a tiger pounced on him.

But the 47-year-old is not one to be easily done in. He summoned up courage and fought the animal with his hands and a rock. And the human won. The animal slunk away.

The attack left Yok Meneh with a gaping wound measuring 15.2cm (6in) long and 10cm (4in) deep on his back. He also suffered injuries to his hands and legs from fighting back.

“In all my years of going into the forest to collect produce, this is the first time I have been attacked by a tiger,” said Yok Meneh, from his bed at the Teluk Intan Hospital.

He was in the forest near his house at Kampung Ras in Sungkai, about 80km from here, when the incident happened.

“I was so engrossed in collecting petai that I did not notice the tiger had crept up behind me,” he said, adding that the tiger was silent until it had pounced on him and pinned him down.

“And then it started growling and growling. I shouted for help before it sunk in that I was all alone and no one could save me.

“The moment I realised I had to save myself I tried to grab anything I could with my hands.

“I found a rock, grabbed it and fought back, hitting the tiger on its head again and again until it slunk away.”

The feisty orang asli then dragged himself about 1.6km out of the forest to his home.

When his wife saw him bedraggled and bleeding, she sought the help of a worker from a nearby oil palm estate to take him to a clinic.

However, because of the severity of his injuries, Yok Meneh was transferred to the Teluk Intan Hospital for treatment.

Asked whether the attack would deter him from going back into the forest, Yok Meneh said he had no choice but to continue as his family’s survival depended on the produce he collected.

You could almost feel sorry for poor old Yok until February 11th when it was reported:

The tiger trapped by a group of orang asli in Sungkai last week died an excruciatingly slow and painful death — so painful that Perak Wildlife and National Parks Department (Perhilitan) director Shabrina Shariff wept when she saw the body.

The tiger was bloodied — it had taken five bullets, two of them in its eyes. It had spear wounds all over, with the poison from the spears slowly killing it. Its flesh was torn by the wire snare and its left forelimb had been torn off.

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“We extracted five bullets from its body, limb and both eyes. Its flesh was badly torn by the wire snare and spears the poachers had jabbed it with,” she said.

Shabrina said it had also been poisoned as the spears used by the orang asli were laced with sap from the Ipoh Tree.

Shabrina said that it was impossible for the tiger, which had been injured so severely, to survive.

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“It was a really handsome and big cat, weighing some 120kg and measuring 1.5m to 1.8m long.

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ecomalaysia.org/tiger-attack-malaysia.html – Cached

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