Jail, strokes for sandalwood thief
By Rol Ezam

A 30-year-old Malaysian was sentenced to one-year jail and two strokes of the cane yesterday after he pleaded guilty to cutting down two 'kayu gaharu', searching, collecting and committing mischief onto the sandalwood trees amounting to $7,993.73 and entering this country illegally.

Abung bin Daud from Meriting Lawas received 7 months jail for each count of cutting, searching and collecting the forest produce, known scientifically as Aquilaria beccariana, and another 7 months and two strokes for committing mischief onto the 'kayu gaharu'.

However, the Magistrate's ordered for the sentences to run concurrently but consecutive to the five months imprisonment sentence he received for the Immigration offence.

He was arrested by a group of 12 police personnel from the RU 'C' of the Royal Brunei Police Force who were instructed to conduct a patrol within the forest vicinity of Ukong, Tutong on the December 14 last year.

The officers saw fallen 'gaharu' trees as soon as they arrived at the vicinity of Bukit Nong Tanggang and then saw the defendant carrying a bag and acting suspiciously at that time, said the Prosecuting Officer Hj Afif Daraina PDH Badaruddin yesterday.

The police then stopped the defendant whereby a search on the contents of the bag revealed one axe, one parang, and a torchlight.

Hj Afif said that the location where the defendant was arrested is the State Land Forest of Kg Ukong bordering the Andulau Forest Reserve.

During investigations, the defendant admitted to entering the country with two others he named as 'Ayas' and 'Reh', who are still at large, through the forest of Miri illegally sometime in November last year with the intention of searching and collecting sandalwood. He further admitted to selling the collected 'kayu gaharu' for RM500 per-kilo.

Beside the two fallen sandalwood trees, 25 small (Jeras) trees were found cut, damaged and dead, said Hj Afif.

Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin