Oct. 26, 2005 — The World Wide Fund for Nature Malaysia last week demanded heavier punishments for illegal hunters of endangered animals after a court fined a man less than $1,900 for possessing a tiger carcass.

WWF-Malaysia tiger rehabilitation officer Brian Lee said he was disappointed with the 7,000 ringgit ($1,854) fine.

"We are disappointed because the fine imposed by the court is too low. The 7,000 ringgit fine will not stop illegal hunters because the tiger is worth much more on the black market," he was quoted as saying by the national Bernama news agency.

Ang Chun Tan, 22, was slapped with the fine on Wednesday, Oct. 19, for possessing the carcass of an endangered Malayan tiger. Malayan tigers are one of three animals in the country accorded full protection of the law because they are nearly extinct, along with the Sumatran rhinoceros and clouded leopard.

Ang was reported as telling the magistrate's court in northern Kelantan state that he had no idea he had a dead tiger in his house.

"I got home from a wedding and the next thing I knew the tiger was in my refrigerator," he said. His father paid the fine.

Under Malaysian laws, Ang could have been fined up to 15,000 ringgit ($3,974) or jailed for up to five years.

Environmentalist Eugene Lee with Traffic Southeast Asia said changes needed to be made to existing laws to halt illegal hunting and the trade in protected species.

"Restaurant operators are smart. They will store the tiger meat in their own homes before they get an order. They do not keep it on the premises where it could become evidence," he added.

Police last week arrested Ang after finding the tiger's butchered remains in his home in Kelantan state during a raid following a tip off.

The five-year-old tiger, which weighed 150 kilograms (331 pounds), had been caught using a wire snare and repeatedly shot in the left shoulder before being cut into four parts.

Authorities believe there are fewer than 100 Malayan tigers left in Kelantan.

Tigers are highly sought after for their meat in many parts of Asia and body parts are used as aphrodisiacs and medicines.

WWF-Malaysia estimates there are fewer than 500 tigers left in peninsular Malaysia, as opposed to around 5,000 in the 1950s.