The government plans to crack down on wildlife smugglers and impose tougher punishments on offenders by the end of the year, the Wildlife Department said Tuesday.

Smugglers could be jailed for up to 12 years and face fines hiked by 100 percent if the government accepts proposals submitted by the department, spokesman Ismail Mahmud told AFP .

"Malaysia is the centre point in Southeast Asia for smuggling activities of protected wildlife," Ismail said.

Malaysia's light penalties compared to those in neighbouring Thailand and Indonesia, and the fact that the export of certain protected animals and their by-products are allowed here, made it an ideal location for a smuggling hub, he said.

"The smugglers and traders know they can get away easily here while they face very harsh penalties in neighbouring countries.

"With this ammendment, we hope to raise public awareness of our depleting wildlife, and that smugglers are actually stealing our precious resources," said Ismail, adding that the ammendment would also include an expanded list of endangered species in the country.

Those caught trading and smuggling protected species are currently fined between RM6,000 and RM10,000 with a possible jail term of between five to ten years.

Penalties ineffective

A Penang court on Monday found a local restaurateur guilty of possessing 672 skinned carcasses of civets and bats, and 114 processed snake skins and animal products including belts and wallets and was fined just RM6,000.

"Over the years, we find that the penalties are just not effective and we have repeated offenders who are not even afraid of being caught," Ismail said.

"If we don't step up the law to punish these people, we will find our wildlife resources are going to disappear for good." AFP