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Read Full BioPolice in Malaysia are continuing to crack down on illegal cockfighting rings, with three elderly men arrested at a makeshift arena in the Penampang District of the state of Sabah.
The news outlet Daily Express Malaysia reported that police arrested three Malaysian men at the site. All three suspects are aged between 64 and 74 years old.
Officers from the Penampang District Criminal Investigation Division launched their raid on Sunday, May 25, at around 4.30 pm. Police acted after receiving a tip-off from a member of the public.
Police arrested the three men, but several other suspects fled the scene, a spokesperson said.
Officers rescued four live roosters from the site. They also confiscated three cages, a cockfighting ring, and cash worth 319 ringgit ($75).
Malaysia Cockfighting Crackdown Intensifies
District Police Chief Supt Sammy Newton was quoted as stating that police suspect the trio of violating Sabah’s Animal Welfare Enactment of 2015.
The law states that individuals “causing or attempting to cause an animal fight” or “receiving money for admission to an animal fight” may be punished with “a fine not exceeding 100,000 ringgit [$23,557] or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years or to both.”
Last month, police urged the public to come forward with information about illegal cockfighting contests, which remain popular in the nation despite a ban.
Officers arrested 124 individuals in a raid in Selangor, where they recovered the bodies of several dead birds, cash, metal fighting spurs, and assorted non-cockfighting-related gambling equipment.
The raid was planned months in advance, with officers carefully plotting their route into a secluded forested area.
Most of the cockfighting bettors and fight organizers were Indonesian nationals, police said.
Cockfighting is illegal in most parts of the world. However, some countries still allow citizens to bet on regulated cockfighting tournaments.
In April this year, the Mexican state of Chiapas authorized the temporary return of regulated cockfighting after a backlash from opponents of a ban.
Several Mexican states have granted the highly divisive sport special cultural heritage status. Others, meanwhile, strictly forbid all forms of cockfighting.
Lottery Ticket Arrest
Elsewhere in Malaysia, meanwhile, a court has ordered a woman found in possession of illegal gambling paraphernalia to pay a fine or serve a jail sentence.
Prosecution officials told the court that police arrested the woman, named Natalia Nicole, on May 20.
Police said Nicole was behaving “in a suspicious manner” at the time of the arrest. Officers arrested her outside a commercial address in Jalan Inanam Baru, Inanam, Daily Express Malaysia wrote in a separate report.
A Magistrate’s Court in Kota Kinabalu ordered Nicole to pay a fine of 1,000 ringgit ($235) or serve a three-month jail term. Nicole pleaded guilty to possessing two illegal lottery tickets.
Malaysian regulations outlaw most forms of onshore gambling, except for a legal casino located in the Genting Highlands.
The Genting Casino houses some 400 electronic tables, as well as 3,000 slot machines. Earlier this year, it completed a renovation, adding a new floor with 36 live gaming tables.
