Court sentences Chinese national to 10 years for ivory possession

Cheng Jie Liang has been living in South Africa for 11 years. The sentence is the highest penalty ever imposed in South Africa for possession of illegal ivory, the Endangered Wildlife Trust’s Rynette Coetzee told Farmer’s Weekly. It would serve as a deterrent to would-be dealers in illegal possession of ivory, she said.

The court heard that Liang’s stash included 67 tusk tips, indicating 34 elephants had been killed.