Chinese duo caught with rhino horn and ivory fined and deported (South Africa) Jenna Etheridge, News24 February 3, 2017 Cape Town – Two Chinese nationals who returned to a Cape Town restaurant to claim a backpack containing processed rhino horn and ivory were each given a suspended five-year jail term on Thursday. The two were sentenced in terms of a plea agreement in the Wynberg Magistrate's Court, said Western Cape Hawks spokesperson Lloyd Ramovha. He said Bingchang Liao was sentenced for possession of elephant ivory without documentation, while Jiawei Yang was sentenced for possession of rhino horn without a permit. A forfeiture order of R35 000 applied to each man. Half the money would be paid to Cape Nature and the other half towards the Criminal Asset Recovery Account. "Both have been declared as undesirable persons in the country and will be leaving the country today." The pair, aged 24 and 27, were wining and dining at a restaurant in Hout Bay on Sunday night and apparently forgot the backpack. They returned on Monday afternoon to claim it and were directed to the nearby police station, where the parcel had been handed in for safekeeping. The Hawks' organised crime endangered species unit arrested the two on the spot. The loot had an estimated street value of just over R60 000. http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/chinese-duo-caught-with-rhino-horn-and-ivory-fined-and-deported-20170203 ------------------------------------- This news service is provided by Save the Elephants. For further information on elephants please see Save the Elephants' web site at http://www.savetheelephants.org ------------------------------------- Disclaimer: Please note that we cannot guarantee the accuracy of any news story. In addition, we do not endorse any of the views expressed therein. We simply try to represent fairly what is in the media on elephants. If a reader finds inaccuracies in an article, we are happy to circulate corrections, if these can be verified. -------------- *Recipients: You can manage your own subscriptions, including unsubscribing, subscribing, and changing your email address, all by clicking on the appropriate listserv link below. Also, if you feel you are receiving too many emails, you can sign up for the 'Daily Digest' option. Note that archived news stories are linked to at the top of each page.* African Elephant News: http://elephantnews.org/mailman/listinfo/african-elephant_elephantnews.org Asian Elephant News: http://elephantnews.org/mailman/listinfo/asian-elephant_elephantnews.org All Scientific Papers: http://elephantnews.org/mailman/listinfo/allpapers_elephantnews.org