Malaysia Customs admits to mass burial of chicken wings

KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia’s Customs Department has finally owned up to the improper disposal of a whopping 81.5 tonnes of chicken wings unearthed by Bukit Aup villagers in Sibu, Sarawak two days ago.

Acting Sarawak Customs director Ahmad Zainudin Drahman said the wings were confiscated goods shipped in from the Netherlands to the Rajang Port in Sibu on Feb 23, without an import permit, The Borneo Post reported on its website on Thursday (April 6).

But he sought to distance the local Customs office from the incident, saying federal officials from Putrajaya took charge of the case from start to finish.

“I cannot give the rationale for their decision to dump it there. We only provide the manpower,” Ahmad was quoted saying.

He told a news conference in Sibu this afternoon that state Customs officials would usually dispose confiscated raw food goods at the garbage disposal centre in Kemuyang after consulting the Veterinary Department, stressing that it was their standard operation procedure.

“That is what we are going to do now. But this disposal of the chicken wings near Bukit Aup is beyond our knowledge. It is arranged by Customs Putrajaya.”

The Borneo Post previously reported an anonymous Sibu Customs officer saying the incident “has nothing to do with us” when contacted over rumours of the mysterious disposal.

Ahmad also said the confiscation of the poultry parts, which had a Customs value of RM543,706.30 and duty import of RM108,742.86, was the first in Sibu.

He added that investigations were underway to find its owner.

He said the goods were seized from the port based on a public tip-off that was then verified by the Customs’ intelligence team which took two days, March 30 and 31, to dispose of at the vacant land in Bukit Aup.

Four days later, villagers nearby who are mostly Iban started digging up the wings from the earth and carted off sacks of them.

The police and district rural council were only alerted and took action to secure the premises a day later, after videos and pictures of the free-for-all circulated on social media sites.

A health advisory was issued cautioning against consumption of the potentially contaminated poultry. MALAY MAIL ONLINE