An estate worker from Indonesia was sentenced to 12 months' jail by the Magistrate Court here on Friday for causing injury to a male orang utan using a machete at Gedau, Long Manis, Beluran on July 13.

Sabah Wildlife Department director William Baya in a statement on Friday said Syam Bin Sul, 38, was charged under Section 37 of the Wildlife Conservation Enactment 1997, which provides a maximum fine of RM20,000 or imprisonment for two years, or both, for causing reckless injury to protected animal.

"It was unfortunate that the perpetrator chose to injure the orang utan when he could have easily avoided it by running away from the animal if indeed it was trying to chase him.

"The penalty imposed by the court should be a reminder to would-be-offender of the serious consequences of injuring protected animals, more so with a totally protected species," he said.

Meanwhile, William said the orang utan, which sustained slash wounds and deep cuts, still required intensive care, probably for the next few weeks.

"We hope that once all the problems are resolved, we will be able to return the animal to the wild where he belongs," he said.

To prevent future incident such as this, William also advised all plantation owners and managers to alert the department if they found any protected species straying into their plantations.