Hanoi, Vietnam:
A court in southern Vietnam has sentenced a zoo owner to three years in prison for selling the carcasses of five endangered tigers.
Presiding Judge Hoang Huy Toan said Monday that Huynh Van Hai was convicted during a two-day trial earlier this month of selling the dead tigers he had raised at his farm near Ho Chi Minh City.
He said 14 other defendants were sentenced to up to 30 months in jail on the same charges.
The judge said Hai told the court the tigers died of bird flu and of choking on a bone.
Tigers parts are prized in traditional medicine for their supposed healing qualities and fetch top dollar on the illegal black market.
Presiding Judge Hoang Huy Toan said Monday that Huynh Van Hai was convicted during a two-day trial earlier this month of selling the dead tigers he had raised at his farm near Ho Chi Minh City.
He said 14 other defendants were sentenced to up to 30 months in jail on the same charges.
The judge said Hai told the court the tigers died of bird flu and of choking on a bone.
Tigers parts are prized in traditional medicine for their supposed healing qualities and fetch top dollar on the illegal black market.
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