AlQa'dah 25, 1435, Sep 20, 2014, SPA -- Two men have been arrested in southern Malaysia for attempting to smuggle to Singapore hundreds of white-rumped shama birds, state wildlife officials said Saturday, according to dpa. Wildlife authorities stopped the suspects' car along a highway a highway in the state of Johor, about 325 kilometres south of Kuala Lumpur, Thursday and discovered the 513 birds in 43 cages at the back of the vehicle, Johor wildlife department chief Hasnan Yusop said. "This is our largest success this year. Prior to this, we managed to halt two other attempts to smuggle out these birds," the Star newspaper quoted Hasnan as saying. Another Johor wildlife official said Singapore was the destination of the birds, a protected species. The two suspects would be charged for violating the Wildlife Conservation Act 2010, which could be punishable with up to three years in jail and a fine of up to 50,000 ringgit (15,500 dollars).
