Nelspruit: A 53-year-old man was given a fine of R2,500 yesterday, Wednesday 28 December 2022. This was after the man was found in possession of monkey meat, hyena meat, three dried crocodile skin and fresh unskinned crocodile carcass that was found inside a refrigerator at Dumphries C near Thulamahashe outside Bushbuckridge. The man paid the fee as an admission of guilt.

According to the information, some members of the public notified the authorities about somebody in possession of wild game. Upon arrival at the scene, members of the police from Mhala SAPS as well as law enforcement agencies from Mpumalanga Board and Tourism discovered the said items.

The man was then arrested for contravention of Section 27, Act 10 of 1998 - Mpumalanga Nature Conservation Act which prohibits the receipt, possession or handling of dead game. After all administration processes were done, that was the time when Vincent Eric Lengwati paid the fine.

Meanwhile the Provincial Commissioner of the SAPS in Mpumalanga, Lieutenant General Semakaleng Daphney Manamela has warned members of the public to refrain from breaking the law and encouraged citizens to partake in conservation of nature for the future generations. "Our concern is that some of these wild animals, like certain parts of the crocodile could be very poisonous for human beings. We therefore caution the public against hunting or being in possession of these species" warned the General.

Source: South African Police Service