Regulations too far
Armed game wardens seized 10 exotic fish from the tank of a popular Chinese restaurant, leaving its owner shaken and outraged.
“They treated me like a criminal,” said Cuong Ly, who escaped from Vietnam 25 years ago. “I lived under communism and I felt like I’m back there again.”
Ly, 45, said his pet koi were like family members and their confiscation in what he described as a heavy-handed raid made him “want to explode inside.”
After obtaining a search warrant, two uniformed wardens and a biologist, accompanied by Freeport police, visited China Rose on Wednesday, taking away the 10 fish that ranged in size from 12 to 14 inches.
The koi had been on display since Ly opened the restaurant nearly 15 years ago and he credited them for bringing good luck to the business in a way akin to the arrangement of articles in the ancient Chinese practice of feng shui.
A few years ago, however, Maine outlawed the importation and possession of koi, and Ly was charged with importing freshwater fish without a permit.
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“It looked like they were raiding the place for illegal drugs,” he said. “They made it seem like a crime scene.”
I’m sorry but that’s retarded.
July 25th, 2006 at 9:30 am
Koi? They outlawed Koi!?
They’re freaking carp with pretty colors! Same species! What the heck for?
July 25th, 2006 at 12:32 pm
Hey, if the koi had been on display for 15 years, and the importation law is only 3 years old…
I predict a lot of state money diverting to a particular Chinese restaurant owner in a few months.
July 25th, 2006 at 1:11 pm
Yup. I seem to recall a bit in the Constitution about ex post facto laws.
Massachusetts could solve all their energy problems for the next thousand years if they could hook up Samuel and John Adams, spinning in their graves faster than high quality gyroscopes, to generators.
July 25th, 2006 at 4:08 pm
I don’t get this, the police confiscated the koi because they were worried Mr Ly was going to dump them in a nearby lake or river. Why would he do that? Big koi can be worth alot so why not sell them or give them away? Also I doubt if he personally imported the fish. Do they have a koi pound for the contraband?!!
July 25th, 2006 at 11:33 pm
Good thing he didn’t import lobster tails in plastic bags or exotic orchids or something. He’d be out of business.