Malaysian resort owners face huge fines, jail over ‘exotic’ pangolin menu for tourists

South China Morning PostCenter-RightEN 1 min read 100% complete by The StarFebruary 25, 2026 at 12:30 AM

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Malaysian authorities conducted a crackdown on a resort in Semporna district, known as "Ops Khazanah", which resulted in the arrest of three individuals and the seizure of live pangolins and cooked pangolin soup. The Sabah Wildlife Department discovered that the resort was storing and serving the protected species, which is listed as totally protected in Sabah. The resort's operators are facing fines ranging from 50,000 to 250,000 ringgit (US$12,840 to US$62,800) and potential jail time of at least one to five years if found guilty under the Sabah Wildlife Conservation Enactment 1997. The crackdown aimed to prevent the possession, keeping, selling, or serving pangolins as a meal in any way in the state. The resort's actions were deemed illegal due to their handling of the protected species.

Key Entities & Roles

Key Player Opposition Context

Royal Malaysia Police 60% Semporna 60% Soffian Abu Bakar 70% Ops Khazanah 70% Sabah Wildlife Department 80% Malaysia ×280% Sabah ×390%

Keywords

pangolin 100% wildlife crime 80% illegal wildlife trade 70% sabah 70% protected species 60% resort 60% poaching 60% wildlife conservation 50% fines and jail 50% semporna 40%

Sentiment Analysis

Very Negative

Score: -0.60

Source Transparency

Source

South China Morning Post

Political Lean

Center-Right (0.50)

Far LeftCenterFar Right

Classification Confidence

90%

This article was automatically classified using rule-based analysis. The political bias score ranges from -1 (far left) to +1 (far right).

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pangolin wildlife crime illegal wildlife trade sabah protected species resort poaching wildlife conservation fines and jail semporna

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