Edwin Tumbai (second left) and Tingkun Penimbol (centre) with their counsels outside the courtroom on Thursday (Jan 26).
KOTA KINABALU: The Sessions Court here released two villagers on good behaviour bond for two years despite both being found guilty of trespassing into areas belonging to Sabah Parks.
Judge Elsie Primus gave the order after ruling that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt against farmers Edwin Tumbai, 57, and Tingkun Penimbol, 53, on Thursday (Jan 26).
Primus, in her ruling, said the court had found that both the accused had gone into the Sabah Parks’ areas without any written permission from its board or from any of its officials authorised by the director.
She said the court needed to strike a balance the best it could between the interest of the public and the interest of the accused.
Hence, she added, the court believed such an order will create a positive attitude and foster deeper understanding on the part of the accused of the duties and responsibilities of the Sabah Parks to protect the environment and the natural heritage in the state.
“This is not only for the benefit of both the accused but to all the people living in the surrounding area,” Primus said.
The court also ordered for Tumbai and Penimbol to be put under the Parks’ supervision for two years, with the respective bond to be executed with two local sureties with a bail sum of RM5,000, but only RM2,500 to be deposited to the court.
The accused were found guilty under Section 48(1)(p) of the Parks Enactment 1984 (Amended 2007) and punishable under Section 48(1)(2) of the same Enactment.
This provides for a maximum one-year jail or fine of up to RM50,000, or both, on conviction.
The enactment prohibits certain acts except with the permission of the board, the director, or any park officer authorised by the director.
Tumbai had gone into the park area without written permission near Kampung Lasau Minunsud in the northern rural Kota Belud district, sometime between 8am and 12.30am in July 2017.
Penimol had committed a similar offence near Kampung Sayap, also in Kota Belud, at 11am on Nov 27, 2017.
Counsel Ram Singh, Kimberly Ye and Chen Wen Jye represented both the accused while deputy public prosecutor Mohammed Ali Imran led the prosecution.
Ram had earlier asked the court to impose only a fine on the defendants or a bond of good behaviour pursuant to Section 294 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
In his submission, he said, the villagers, including the accused, had at all material times believed these were ancestral lands which they had cultivated and acquired through adat (custom).
Ali, however, said the offences were not merely acts of trespassing as the accused had admitted they had burned as well as chopped down trees in the forest and, thus, urged the court’s consideration for a deterrent sentence on the duo.
He noted that Sabah Parks had issued warnings and served notices of compounds to the men but that they refused to settle them, adding both could not therefore claim they were not aware that their actions were wrong.
