No suspects yet in gruesome Tongod elephant killing as Sabah probe stalls over lack of evidence, says state minister

KOTA KINABALU, June 15 — Investigators have yet to identify any suspects in the gruesome killing of a Bornean elephant found decapitated in Tongod last month, with Sabah authorities saying the remote location of the crime and lack of evidence continue to hamper efforts to solve the case.

State Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Jafry Ariffin said the investigation is still ongoing and authorities are waiting for it to be completed before drawing any conclusions.

“The case is still under investigation and we are waiting for it to be completed,” he said when asked for an update on the probe here today.

Jafry acknowledged the challenges faced by enforcement agencies, noting that Sabah's vast forested areas make wildlife monitoring a difficult task.

“So far, no one has come forward. We have to depend on the staff, but this is a very large area to cover and we also have many places to monitor. We hope people understand, but we will definitely take action,” he said.

He added that no arrests have been made so far due to the lack of evidence linking any individual to the crime and the difficulty in finding witnesses.

The adult male Bornean elephant was found dead in the Sungai Pinangah Forest Reserve in Tongod on May 17, with its face hacked open in an L-shaped pattern and both tusks missing.

Previously Jafry had said the incident happened in remote and isolated jungle areas where eye witnesses were unlikely.

Sabah Wildlife Department director Mohd Soffian Abu Bakar had however said that estate workers, operators or local communities were cooperative but the issue was getting evidence to charge any suspects.

The killing was most likely an act of poaching for its ivory.

The Borneon elephant is the smallest of the elephant species and those in Sabah are its own unique species and one of the icons of Sabah’s wildlife heritage. 

However, the state struggles with a declining population due to habitat loss, poaching, general hunting and general human wildlife conflict.

There is an estimated 1,000 elephants remaining in Sabah, and every single loss is considered significant.