Illegal felling of trees in forest reserve: Man to enter defence
Published on: Saturday, April 16, 2016
Kota Kinabalu: A 65-year-old local was on Friday ordered to enter his defence on two charges of illegally cutting down trees and having timbers in a forest reserve.Sessions Court Judge Ainul Shahrin Mohamad made the order on Vun Loi Onn after ruling that the prosecution had established a prima facie case against him.Ainul set April 22 for Vun's defence and about three defence witnesses would be called.ADVERTISEMENT On the first count, Vun is accused of cutting down 68 trees between April 3 and 11, 2014 at the reserve in Kg Mangaris, Kota Marudu.The offence under Section 23(2) of the Forest Enactment 1968 carries a jail term of between one year and 20 years, and a fine of up to RM500,000, on conviction.On the second count, he allegedly had 96 timbers at 9am on April 15, 2015 at the same place and time.The offence falls under Section 30(1)(g) of the Forest Enactment 1968 which provides for a fine of up to RM500,000, or a jail of up to five years, or both, on conviction.ADVERTISEMENT Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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About 21 prosecution witnesses were testified during the hearing.Prosecuting Officer Pius Primus from the Forestry Department conducted the prosecution.