Chinese ‘wildlife crime kingpin’ fails to go for plea to corruption charges
Notorious Chinese wildlife crime convict, Lin Yun Hua, did not show up for plea to corruption charges levelled against him before the Lilongwe Principal Resident Magistrate Court because prison authorities “failed” to bring him from Domasi Prison in Zomba.
The “wildlife crime kingpin” was due to appear before the court on 8th November on charges that he attempted to bribe High Court Judge Violet Chipao and prison officials with MK80 million when he was on remand at Maula Prison in Lilongwe in 2019.
He was then on trial for, among others, wildlife trafficking and money laundering, for which he is now serving a 14 year sentence in Malawi prisons.
Ant-Corruption Bureau (ACB) prosecutors and Lin’s defense team had waited at the court for the suspect’s arrival for his latest case.
But prison authorities communicated at the eleventh minute of their failure to bring Lin due to logistical challenges, according to Peter Sambani, Principal Legal and Prosecutions Officer at ACB.
Consequently, according to Sambani, the matter comes back to court on 11th December for plea and directions.
He said: “As the state we are set to commence the case for we already applied for disclosures and served the court with the charge sheet”.
Prison authorities were not immediately available for comment.
Lin, the leader of a notorious Chinese gang illegally trading in wildlife products, was sentenced in September 2021 for trading in Rhino horn and money laundering by Justice Chipao, who was then Lilongwe’s Chief Resident Magistrate.
In the earlier years of his incarceration, especially at Maula, Lin had reportedly been allowed to leave prison, spend days at his home, conduct his business and go on shopping sprees in the company of prison guards. This might also be another case for investigation and prosecution by ACB.
He has also been in and out of High Court and Supreme Court of Appeal, seeking a reduction of his 14 year prison term.
Apparently, the Supreme Court of Appeal early this year granted him leave to appeal against his 14-year prison sentence and permission to appeal out of time. The case is ongoing.
Recently, an investigation by the Platform for Investigative Journalism revealed that Lin is also seeking a presidential pardon.
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