By: Dyah Eka Rini

Jakarta (23/06)– Indonesian police arrested a man identified by his initial AM (24 years old) who allegedly poisoned and skinned Shella, a female Sumatran tiger inside Taman Rimbo Zoo, Jambi last August 2009. AM violated Act No. 5/1990 on Natural Resources and Ecosystem Conservation and could face up to five years in jail and a fine 10,000 US dollars for killing endangered animal.
Conservation official Didi Wuryanto told AFP that the arrest has proven that the Indonesian government was very serious in protecting Sumatran tiger population. This has brought a bright future for the law enforcement of tiger killing.
Chairul Saleh, Species Program Coordinator of WWF-Indonesia hailed government and police efforts to arrest Shella murderer. However, Chairul expected that the efforts would not stop only in hunter level. ""The investigation must cover the whole thing, including to reveal whether the hunter is part of an illegal trade network,"" he said.
Three perpetrators broke into Shella's cage in the zoo and skinned her inside the cage in August 2009. To date, two perpetrators have been arrested and the police is still looking for the third suspect. The first accomplice has been sentenced to three years and ten months in jail for the crime.