The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) has brought charges against Deputy Prime Minister Plodprasop Suraswadi, accusing him of illegally shipping 100 Bengal tigers to China while he was chief of the Royal Forest Department in 2002.
In what is sure to be a landmark case in the contentious field of tiger law, the NACC has insisted that Plodprasop shipped the tigers for commercial purposes, while Plodprasop contends that because the tigers were captive and non-native to Thailand, he was in the right.
The Bangkok Post helpfully added that although shipping tigers abroad for research or conservation is allowed under the Thai Wildlife Protection Act, commercial tiger transactions are strictly forbidden.
The tiger swap took place in 2002, when Si Racha Tiger Zoo in Thailand sent the tigers to China’s Sunya Zoo for some breeding and feeding. Both Sri Racha and Sunya Zoo are commercial institutions.
Plodprasop has insisted on his innocence and vowed to fight the case, which will hold its first hearing on April 22.
