Individuals punished for killing endangered langurs
GIA LAI - Private First Class Nguyen Van Quang, 20, has been discharged from the army for causing the death of two endangered langurs in the Central Highlands province of Kon Tum, reported Military Corps Command No 3 yesterday.
His two accomplices have received disciplinary warnings.
The Command said investigations started after a dozen photos of the two grey-shanked doucs (Pygathrix cinerea), an extremely rare species found only in the Central Highlands of Viet Nam and listed as one of the world's 25 most endangered primates, appeared on Quang's Facebook.
The photos incriminated Quang and his colleagues of brutally torturing the langurs, said the Command.
The Command said poacher Ha Van Tu, 37, from Dak Lak, was recently arrested while two others are wanted by authorities.
Quang admitted to illegally buying the langurs from three poachers at a cost of VND1.2 million (US$57), then torturing and eating them, added the Command.
According to Resolution 32/2006/ND-CP, killing an endangered species such as the grey-shanked douc can lead to a jail term of up to three years.
Investigations are ongoing. - VNS