Nairobi (AFP) - A Chinese man pleaded guilty Monday in a Kenyan court
to trafficking ivory, the first person to be convicted under tough new wildlife laws
designed to stem a surge of poaching.
Tang Yong Jian, 40, pleaded guilty to charges of illegal possession
and dealing in ivory, after he was arrested
last week while on transit from Mozambique to China via Nairobi.
He was carrying a small elephant ivory tusk weighing 3.4 kilogrammes
(7.5 pounds) in a suitcase.
Under the new law, dealing in wildlife trophies carries a fine of not less than
a million shillings (11,500 dollars, 8,500 euros) or a minimum jail sentence of five years, or both.
Tang is due to be sentenced on Tuesday.
The most serious wildlife crimes -- the killing of endangered animals --
now carry penalties of life imprisonment, as well as fines of up to 20 million Kenyan shillings ($230,000, 170,000 euros).
For years, Kenyan courts had their hands tied by laws that limited punishments for such crimes,
but a new wildlife act signed into law this month has provided far stiffer penalties.
