Police in Thailand announced on Friday January 26 the indictment of a woman for illegal possession of a lion cub, after the broadcast of a video online that went viral showing the animal being taken for a ride in a Bentley.
Police had opened an investigation into the video, which has more than 2.6 million views, showing a lion cub in a white Bentley driving around the tourist town of Pattaya.
"Animal protection"
Sawangjit Kosoognern was accused of violating environmental and natural resources legislation by
“unauthorized possession of a protected animal species
,” police explained on their official Facebook page.
“We apprehended her under the Wild Animal Protection Act 2019
,” the police added.
Under the law, the Thai woman could be fined up to 100,000 baht (around 2,600 euros) and face one year of imprisonment.
Sawangjit Kosoognern told police he bought the young lion from another woman for 250,000 baht but was unable to obtain an official document for the sale due to lack of information on the sex of the animal.
She kept the feline in a house rented by a Sri Lankan.
The man, who can be seen driving the Bentley in the video, was deported back to his country, according to the Department of National Parks and Wildlife.