Trader on the horns of a legal dilemma

Xu Fang, Shanghai Daily
September 4, 2008

A LOCAL garment trader went on trial yesterday for allegedly smuggling 2.05 million yuan (US$299,537) worth of ivory and related products into the city.

The case was heard by Shanghai No. 1 Intermediate People's Court, which is still considering a verdict.

Prosecutors said Zhuang Zhifang, 48, who was conducting garment trades between China and Guinea, was seized by Customs officers for carrying eight pieces of ivory, 16 ivory bangles and two ivory bracelets in her luggage when she arrived at the Pudong International Airport from Paris on May 13. Earlier, she had flown from Guinea to Paris.

The seized ivory weighed 1.3 kilograms and came from African elephants. Prosecutors charged Zhuang with smuggling precious animal products, saying that the defendant, having traveled between China and Guinea several times, should have known ivory and ivory products cannot be brought into the country.

Zhuang admitted she knew it was illegal to carry ivory into China. But the African seller told her that processed ivory was allowed to be traded and carried because it was considered to be a craft article.

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