Action taken against illegal logging mastermind

KUCHING: Action has been taken against a senior officer of the Sarawak Forestry Corporation (SFC) for allegedly masterminding an illegal logging activity in Kampung Danu, Padawan.

SFC chief executive officer Wong Ting Chung, who confirmed this yesterday, said the corporation had handed over the illegal logging case to the Forestry Department of Sarawak, which was in the process of taking legal action against the culprits.

He said that the logging permit given to the Kampung Danu cooperative had been withdrawn after it was found that it had been abused for logging activities outside the permitted area.

“We have started the disciplinary process against him (the SFC officer) in accordance with the company’s rules and regulations.

“He has answered our show-cause letter and we will decide his fate soon.”

Apart from withdrawing the permit, the Forestry Department of Sarawak seized 750 logs and the machines used in the illegal logging during a raid on Dec 8.

The logs and machines are still being held at the junction of the logging road in Kampung Danu.

The department, in a statement last month, said the culprits could be charged under the new Sarawak Forest Ordinance 2015, which carries heavier penalties.

Prior to the raid, a group of Kampung Danu villagers, who are committee members of the village cooperative, had lodged a report at the Siburan police station denying that they had given their approval to the cooperative to apply for the logging permit.

In their report, they claimed that several members of the cooperative had used the cooperative for their personal benefit.

Meanwhile, Sarawak Public Health Assistant Minister Datuk Dr Jerip Susil, who is also Bengoh assemblyman, strongly denied his involvement in the logging activities. — Bernama