ST: Rosewood case: Court of Appeal clears businessman and firm of importing logs without a permit

SINGAPORE – In the final twist to a five-year saga involving a shipment of Madagascan rosewood logs worth US$50 million (S$67.8 million), the Court of Appeal on Monday (April 8) quashed the convictions of a Singaporean businessman and his trading firm for importing the logs without a permit.

The decision by a five-judge court, set out in a 79-page written judgment, hinged on the interpretation of the term “transit” in the Endangered Species (Import and Export) Act, which regulates the trade of specified species of animals and plants, including rosewood.

The court ruled that the rosewood brought into Singapore by Mr Wong Wee Keong, 58, and his company Kong Hoo was in transit, and was not imported. Thus, the charges against Mr Wong and his firm for importing the logs without a permit could not stand.