Convicted Chinese national Lin Yunhua Lin has appealed his 14 years Imprisonment with Hard Labour (IHL).

The Chinese national alongside a Malawian national, James Mkwezalamba, were sentenced to 14 years IHL for being found in possession of rhino horns and six years for money laundering.

The sentences are to run concurrently thus serving a total of 14 years and after serving the sentence Lin will be deported back to China.

Lin is believed to be the head of ‘Lin-Zhang gang’, which has been operating within and outside Malawi for at least a decade. He was arrested in August 2019 after a 3-month manhunt by the authorities.

A total of 10 Chinese nationals and four Malawian nationals have received prison sentences on a variety of offences related to the possession of firearms and protected or listed species, including pangolin, rhino horn, hippo teeth, or elephant ivory.

It is yet to be seen if the High Court will overturn the sentence or indeed uphold the sentence or even add some more years as a deterrent to others.