Scientist Caged For Smuggling Rare Plants

Monday, 16th January 2006, 10:00
Category: Crime and Punishment
LIFE STYLE EXTRA (UK) - A top scientist has been jailed for smuggling more
than 100 "priceless" orchids -the world's most desired flower -into
Britain.

Pharmaceutical researcher Dr Sian Lim, 32, was caught smuggling some of
the rarest species of the beautiful, fragrant and delicate plant into
Britain from his native Malaysia.

The illegal trade, dubbed 'orchidelirium', threatens to destroy some
species entirely. Thousands of pounds can be exchanged for each of the
flowers admired for their sensuous shape and heady scent.

Amongst the flowers recovered was one species that only grows in small
numbers in a remote area of a national park in Sarawak in Malaysia.

Six of the flowers - the most spectacular of the group - are so rare they
are on the brink of extinction and can only be found on the slopes of
Mount Kinabalu on the island of Borneo.

Two of the flowers were only discovered in 1997 in the remote Indonesian
island of Sulawesi and are believed to be extinct because of illegal
collection. They are so rare that the orchid expert at Kew admitted he had
never even seen one.

In all 126 specimens seized from Dr Lim fall into the CITES' "Category A"
which means they are banned from all trade.

A renowned collector, Dr Lim grows rare orchids in two greenhouses in the
garden of his home in Putney, south west London, and exhibits at
international shows.

He admitted 13 charges of smuggling rare orchids into Heathrow Airport,
but denied doing it for commercial gain despite the thriving black market.

He claimed he had been offered the plants for sale in Malaysia and that he
only brought them back to Britain with him at the last moment because the
climate there was too hot.

But after a trial at Isleworth Crown Court, Dr Lim's claims were rejected
by Judge Richard McGregor Johnson who jailed him for four months.

The Judge told Lim: "I am satisfied you did bring in these orchids with a
view to commercial gain. It is essential that the courts make it plain
that such behaviour for gain will not be tolerated in order to discourage
other who might be tempted to follow in your footsteps."

He accused the doctor of having a "cavalier attitude" to the regulations
and added: "I do not accept your evidence in its entirety."

Orchid biologist Dr David Roberts, of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, said
after the case: "Illegal trade can push some rare orchids towards
extinction.

"Many orchids are threatened through habitat destruction, but some, often
the rarest, are also at risk from over collecting for international trade.
Illegal trade is rapidly pushing those species towards extinction."

Dominic Connolly, prosecuting, explained that because wild orchids are now
an endangered species they are covered by the Convention on International
Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) under which most trade is banned or
regulated with special permits.

Mr Connolly told the court: "The international trade in orchids is a
multi-million dollar industry, but the majority of this trade is in
cultivated hybrid plants.

"Legal trade in orchids taken directly from the wild is very limited with
many countries banning their export. As a result there is an illegal trade
and they are often offered for trade under the counter at orchid shows."

The orchids found by customs officers in Lim's luggage at Heathrow when he
flew in from Malaysia on June 2, 2004, included "some of the most sought-
after orchids in the history of orchid collection - some of the most rare
in the world."

Rejecting Dr Lim's claims, Mr Connolly said that since June 2003 he had
been issued with 399 CITES permits to import 8,980 plants - 7,932 of which
were actually imported and that the purpose given on each application form
was "trade."

Lim had sold plants at various international orchid shows, including those
in London and Newbury, acting for Creative Orchids or Orchid Inn.

Mr Connolly said the number of plants imported was consistent with
commercial use and not personal collection.

After the plants were seized at Heathrow they were taken to Kew Gardens
for inspection.

Mr Connolly said: "It was immediately obvious that a significant
proportion of the consignment was of wild origin for which no permits had
been obtained."

He said it was impossible to put a value on the illegal plants as
"relevant experts have never heard of or seen this species offered for
sale as mature plants."

He added: "Many of these plants are essentially priceless as they are
rarely offered for sale and are worth as much as someone is prepared to
pay for them."

Lim, who is head of research and development at Medpharm Ltd - described
as a "spin-off" company from Kings College, London University - claimed
that when he completed the CITES permit applications, he simply used the
Malaysian export permits as a template and was unaware the "T" in the
purpose box stood for "Trade."

He claimed he did not trade in orchids and the fact that his name appeared
on some of the show literature was because he acted for friends living in
other countries. He said he was not employed by either Creative Orchids,
Far East Agriculture or Orchid Inn. Lim, of Oakhill Road, Putney, said
that his hobby helped to relieve stress.

The international trade in orchids has grown rapidly in the past 20 years,
and now involves up to a billion of the plants a year. The vast majority
of that is legal and has made orchids the UK's most popular house plant.
But the illegal trade continues and although small by comparison, does
enormous environmental damage.

The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of wild Fauna
and Flora (CITES) is also known as the 'Washington Convention' after the
place where it was negotiated in 1973.

The Convention is administered by the United Nations Environment Programme
(UNEP) and came into force in 1975; since then 169 countries have signed
up to the Convention.

Orchids are found all over the world but about 7O% are found in the
tropics. There are some 25,000 species of orchids.

One of the plants confiscated by Customs included P. (Paphiopedilum)
rothschildianum, named after the eminent Victorian orchid grower Baron
Ferdinand de Rothschild. Of all the species in the genus Paphiopedilum
this is one of the rarest in nature.

Despite extensive searching for over 100 years it has been located only in
a small number of sites on Mount Kinabalu in Borneo, Malaysia.

Another was P. sanderianum, one of the most striking of all orchids and
easily recognisable by its long drooping petals which can grow to a length
of more than a metre. It was first discovered in Borneo in 1885 but did
not survive long in cultivation, probably due to its very specific habitat
requirements.

In the wild it grows on steep limestone cliffs in areas that are shaded
for most of the day. It was rediscovered in 1978. It is only known from a
national park in Borneo.

A third was P. gigantifolium, readily identified by broad glossy green
leaves which can grow up to 60cm long and 12cm wide. It grows just in
river gorges in the Sulawesi, Indonesia. Only discovered in 1997, it is
now thought to be extinct in its original locality due to over collecting
and may be extinct in the wild.

Dr Roberts added: "I was particularly concerned to see Paphiopedilum
gigantifolium, an orchid I had never seen before, as this species was only
described new to science in 1997."

"The plants now belong to Customs. If and when they are handed over to Kew
we will be in touch with the likely countries of origin to determine the
future of the plants."

These reporters tend to overdo most of the stories. I seriously doubt many
orchids can fetch "thousands of pounds" each. Of the three species actually
mentioned at the end of the article, two are available from seed in the U.S.
and the line-bred plants are probably quite superior to the wild plants in
flower size and ease of blooming (at least for P. rothschildianum, P.
sanderianum is a little newer.) What the heck is CITES "Category A"? CITES
has Appendices, not Categories, and even Appendix 1 plants are not "banned
from all trade." Also I seriously doubt there are many people buying
Paphiopedilums for their "heady scent."
-danny

"Heady scent"

Every time I see a high-end advertisement showing some gorgeous model
smelling a big white phalaenopsis orchid with an expression of utter rapture
on her face I burst out laughing.

-Eric in SF
www.orchidphotos.org

On Mon, 16 Jan 2006 16:21:11 -0800 in Eric Hunt wrote:
"Heady scent"

Every time I see a high-end advertisement showing some gorgeous model
smelling a big white phalaenopsis orchid with an expression of utter rapture
on her face I burst out laughing.

I'm all for a photoshoot of said sex kitten nibbling flowers off
of a Tolumnia... But then again I've had to laugh at house cats
finding the buds and blooms delectable...

Thank goodness for sacrificial spider plants.

Reka,
Do you have a hurl[1] for the rag that carried the story so
that the meaner and more spiteful of us can write them
to let them know how incompetent their reporters are and
that they are a pox on the rear of humanity?

[1] As a general rule I don't read those websites, they make
me want to barf.

--
Chris Dukes
Suspicion breeds confidence -- Brazil

Chris,
I googled it and found this URL for this story
http://www.lse.co.uk/ShowStory.asp?s...ng_rare_plants
Joanna

"?" wrote in message
rg...
On Mon, 16 Jan 2006 16:21:11 -0800 in
Eric Hunt
wrote:
"Heady scent"

Every time I see a high-end advertisement showing some gorgeous model
smelling a big white phalaenopsis orchid with an expression of utter
rapture
on her face I burst out laughing.

I'm all for a photoshoot of said sex kitten nibbling flowers off
of a Tolumnia... But then again I've had to laugh at house cats
finding the buds and blooms delectable...

Thank goodness for sacrificial spider plants.

Reka,
Do you have a hurl[1] for the rag that carried the story so
that the meaner and more spiteful of us can write them
to let them know how incompetent their reporters are and
that they are a pox on the rear of humanity?

[1] As a general rule I don't read those websites, they make
me want to barf.

--
Chris Dukes
Suspicion breeds confidence -- Brazil

In article ,
says...

~Do you have a hurl[1] for the rag that carried the story so
~that the meaner and more spiteful of us can write them
~to let them know how incompetent their reporters are and
~that they are a pox on the rear of humanity?
~
~[1] As a general rule I don't read those websites, they make
~me want to barf.
~
~
What do you expect from a paper called "Life Style Extra"? Oh, they "aim
to provide useful, organised, up-to-date financial and other useful
information."

http://www.lse.co.uk/
--
Reka

This is LIFE! It's not a rehearsal. Don't miss it!
http://www.rolbox.it/hukari/index.html

"
~Do you have a hurl[1] for the rag that carried the story so
~that the meaner and more spiteful of us can write them
~to let them know how incompetent their reporters are and
~that they are a pox on the rear of humanity?
~
~[1] As a general rule I don't read those websites, they make
~me want to barf.
~
~
What do you expect from a paper called "Life Style Extra"? Oh, they "aim
to provide useful, organised, up-to-date financial and other useful
information."

http://www.lse.co.uk/
--
Reka

This story made the National paper,Sunday Express in the UK.I have met Lim
& purchased plants from him before.His father has a established orchid
nursery in Malaysia,were Lim is from.These stories do get sensationalised
and the courts seem to come down hard on anyone caught up.This is the
first time I have heard of anyone going to jail recently for this crime in
the UK. I am not justifying what Lim has done but feel the courts in the
UK are hypocrites,people get let off for more serious crimes.Regarding the
paph sanderianum,if this is so rare how does someone in Malaysia have 4000
of them!
And as for customs & Kew-
Snip
After the plants were seized at Heathrow they were taken to Kew Gardens
for inspection.
"The plants now belong to Customs. If and when they are handed over to Kew
we will be in touch with the likely countries of origin to determine the
future of the plants."
Yeh right we all know were they will end up!Like all the rest of the
confiscated orchids in the UK.
Cheers Keith
PS it must be bloody tempting to smuggle plants when they grow on your door
step like weeds!!

On Tue, 17 Jan 2006 13:37:03 GMT, ?
wrote:

snip

Reka,
Do you have a hurl[1] for the rag that carried the story so
that the meaner and more spiteful of us can write them
to let them know how incompetent their reporters are and
that they are a pox on the rear of humanity?

[1] As a general rule I don't read those websites, they make
me want to barf.

--
Chris Dukes
Suspicion breeds confidence -- Brazil

I hate to keep coming to this group with questions and requests for
assistance, but here I go again:

I've just started teaching a journalism feature writing course, and if
you (or anybody else here) is planning on writing a letter complaining
about the article, I'd appreciate it if you could send me a copy (or
post it here). I'd love to be able to hand out a copy of this story,
ask the students what they thought about it, and then show them some
critiques penned by people who really know the topic. I think it would
be an eye-opener for them, and it wouldn't require me stamping all
over their fragile egos by slashing and burning their own work. I'll
save that treat for later. g
--Vic
[replace final portion of my e-mail address with .ca]

da wrote:
I've just started teaching a journalism feature writing course, and if
you (or anybody else here) is planning on writing a letter complaining
about the article, I'd appreciate it if you could send me a copy (or
post it here). I'd love to be able to hand out a copy of this story,
ask the students what they thought about it, and then show them some
critiques penned by people who really know the topic. I think it would
be an eye-opener for them, and it wouldn't require me stamping all
over their fragile egos by slashing and burning their own work.


Never mind their precious egos; it's your job.. People with fragile
egos don't belong among the cadre of ink-stained wretches.

Make the students do the research. That's what they'll have to do in
the real world.

Let them critique each other, and then you critique them. If they
snivel, too bad.


J. Del Col (erstwhile journalism teacher)

On 18 Jan 2006 10:54:48 -0800, "jadel" wrote:


wrote:
I've just started teaching a journalism feature writing course, and if
you (or anybody else here) is planning on writing a letter complaining
about the article, I'd appreciate it if you could send me a copy (or
post it here). I'd love to be able to hand out a copy of this story,
ask the students what they thought about it, and then show them some
critiques penned by people who really know the topic. I think it would
be an eye-opener for them, and it wouldn't require me stamping all
over their fragile egos by slashing and burning their own work.


Never mind their precious egos; it's your job.. People with fragile
egos don't belong among the cadre of ink-stained wretches.

Make the students do the research. That's what they'll have to do in
the real world.

Let them critique each other, and then you critique them. If they
snivel, too bad.


J. Del Col (erstwhile journalism teacher)

Don't worry, I plan on making them miserable, and on being as tough on
them as I would be on any professional reporter whose story I'm
required to edit.

I just thought it would be helpful to show them that:

a) so-called professionals make mistakes

and that as a result

b) people who are actually experts on a topic ridicule those mistakes,
even if they don't always send in letters to the editor to complain
about the sloppy reporting.

This is my first time teaching, so I'm still in the process of
rounding up good teaching examples, which is why I thought I would
post this request. I know what I want to accomplish with the class,
and I have some idea about how to get there -- lots of small writing
exercises, plenty of self and group critique, fact-checking each
other's work, fact-checking their work myself, required drafts and
re-writes, and a nice, tight schedule of assignments -- but I'm also
willing to admit that I'm learning on the job, and I'll take help from
whatever sources I can find.

And to get this back on topic, my phal is blooming again.
--Vic

If this is Smuggling 201, is there going to be an essay test or is going to
be true and false? Can I just audit this coarse?

The first half of this article gave me the impression the author was writing
fluff. In the second part, he named and quoted sources and left me with the
general impression he only had a superficial understanding of his topic but
I was left with my opinions intact.

Why did Dr Lim go to jail? In my opinion, the answer is, he went to jail
because he wanted to own plants in Britain that he could not legally own in
that country at the time he brought them across the border. He purchased
the plants from local markets in Malaysia. He knew he was breaking
import/export laws. He stated to the judge that his reason for bringing
them back was to protect them, not to profit from them. Why can't profit be
the motive to protect them?

Had he not purchased them, he rationalized, they would have died in their
own country; killed by Malaysians who collected them from the wild to sell
them. But, why did the people of Malaysia collect to the point of
extinction their precious native plants, if not to sell to them to people
just like Dr Lim?

CITES suggests that the governments own the plants in their borders and
decide their fate. There are problems with this idea and with the treaty
and it's enforcement. Some say orchid collectors ARE part of the problem.
Some say they could be part of the solution but CITES prevents them from
getting the plants to reproduce them in sufficient quantity to satisfy
demand of collectors.

Smuggling is smuggling.

PS. I mean "suggest" in a vague way. I mean "own" in a vague way. I meant
this sentence to contrast with another sentence about some of the Malaysian
people being party to the collection and sale. I wonder if the Malaysian
government has laws against collecting and selling native plants and how
they enforce those laws if they exist. How do plants not allowed to leave
Malaysia get all the way to the British border before somebody stops them?
Why is always reported that it is at the border of the foreign country that
these plants are caught and the carrier arrested? Why don't we see articles
about how local vendors are caught with plants and how the plants are taken
back to the hillside they were stripped from?

I know the US has laws against the collection, ownership and sale of native
species. How many Americans own native orchids? Or make them a central
part of their orchid collections? How many foreigners have our native
orchids in their collections? I believe buying native American orchids here
in this country is rather hard. Everyone is concerned that they are not
wild collected. Yet there are a few vendors of native orchids and their
catalogs are pretty sparse compared with the number of native orchids I know
of. Why look outside your own borders for 'treasures"?

Al" wrote in message
...
CITES suggests that the governments own the plants in their borders and
decide their fate.

Why don't we see articles about how local vendors are caught with plants
and how the plants are taken back to the hillside they were stripped from?

Hear, hear. Redundant question, though, Al, since you already know the
answer. Um, why aren't illegal aliens (not from your planet, of course,
which is a friendly planet and only wishes to study earthlings) stopped on
their own side of the border??

Asbestos suit back from the cleaners. Donning it now.

Diana

Eric,

Yeah, but ya gotta' love her nice pods in those glossy pictures... errrr,
capsules.

Mick

==================


"Eric Hunt" wrote in message
...
"Heady scent"

Every time I see a high-end advertisement showing some gorgeous model
smelling a big white phalaenopsis orchid with an expression of utter
rapture on her face I burst out laughing.

-Eric in SF
www.orchidphotos.org

C'mon Mick. It IS "awards show" time.

"Golden Globes"

--

Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com
Plants, Supplies, Artwork, Books and Lots of Free Info!


"Mick Fournier" wrote in message
...
Eric,

Yeah, but ya gotta' love her nice pods in those glossy pictures... errrr,
capsules.

Mick

==================


"Eric Hunt" wrote in message
...
"Heady scent"

Every time I see a high-end advertisement showing some gorgeous model
smelling a big white phalaenopsis orchid with an expression of utter
rapture on her face I burst out laughing.

-Eric in SF
www.orchidphotos.org