On June 8, the People's Court of Kim Boi District, Hoa Binh District, sentenced Bui Van Mien to the prison (staying in Xuan Phong Ward, Cao Phong District, Hoa Binh Province) to four years in prison for "Violating the Regulations". regulations on protection of endangered, precious and rare animals ”as prescribed in Article 244 of the Criminal Code 2015 (amended in 2017 - hereinafter referred to as the Penal Code 2017).

Previously, at 11:30 on January 2, 2018, at Bai Chao - Bai Lang street, located in Binh Son commune, Kim Boi district, Hoa Binh province, the Economic Police Division working group coordinated the Traffic Police Team. , Kim Boi District Police in Hoa Binh province inspected cars carrying control plate 28A - 00427 and arrested Mien and the evidence was a paper box containing three dead fireballs.

According to the object's claim, the number of firepipes shipped by Mian originated in Laos and was hired by a man to move to Hanoi to sell to customers.

The arrest took place just one day after the Criminal Code 2017 took effect (January 1, 2018), raising the fines for wildlife violations up to 15 years or 2 billion dong for individuals and a fine. up to VND 15 billion, suspended from 6 months to 3 years of operation or permanently suspended for legal entities.

Mian's behavior fully satisfies the criminal constituents as prescribed in Clause 2, Article 244 of the 2017 Penal Code with a penalty range from 5 years to 10 years in prison. In the course of trial, due to the application of some extenuating circumstances, the actual penalty subject to four years of imprisonment is lower than the penalty frame prescribed in Clause 2, Article 244. However, in view of ENV, this penalty also partly reflects the seriousness of the violations of wildlife laws as well as showing the initial effectiveness of applying the Penal Code 2017 in handling this type of crime. ENV hopes that in the near future there will be more severe prison sentences applied to deter those who have ambition to make money illegally from wildlife.

The case is still investigating to find out the object providing these three individuals.

Fireballs (Catopuma temminckii) are endangered, precious and rare mammals protected at the highest levels according to Vietnamese and international laws. Specifically, fire leopard is on the list of endangered precious and rare species prioritized for protection, issued together with Decree No. 160/2013 / ND-CP of November 12, 2013, on criteria for identifying species and management regime. treatment of species on the list of endangered precious and rare species prioritized for protection (hereinafter referred to as Decree 160 for short) and listed in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Species of Fauna and Flora Endangered wildlife (CITES).