The four accused from the third case walk out of the courtroom.
SIBU: Seven men and a woman were fined RM25,000, in default 10 months’ jail, each by the Sessions Court yesterday after they pleaded guilty to illegal possession of forest produce.
Raffles Steward Langkau, 23; Chille Kudi, 42; Sumpeng Unding, 71; Senaun Openg, 53; Dahnial Basah, 43; Teo Lok Koh, 24; Puntol Teo, 45; and Nur Azmina Teo Abdullah, 37; were charged under Section 96(1) of Forest Ordinance 2015.
They did not pay the fine.
The Section provides for a fine between RM25,000 and RM150,000, or a maximum five years’ jail, or both, upon conviction.
The accused were not represented, while DPP Hisyamudin Roslan, Mohamad Fuad Ahmad from Sarawak Forestry Corporation (SFC) and Khairul Kabir Abdul Kadir from State Security and Enforcement Unit (UKPN) stood for prosecution.
In the first case, Raffles, Chille and Sumpeng had in their boats 271 logs that did not bear any registered property mark, when apprehened at 11.40pm on March 10, 2019 at Rajang River here.
According to facts of case, a team from UKPN, SFC, and Marine Police inspected three motorboats under the control of Raffles, Chille and Sumpeng at Rajang River.
The three accused in the first case seen outside the courtroom after the announcement of sentencing.
They were caught in the midst of transporting 271 logs of various species and sizes. They failed to show any document to prove that royalty for the logs had been paid and that the logs did not bear any registered property mark and Log Production Identity tag.
In mitigation, they pleaded for leniency, saying that they felt remorseful for their action.
Chille said he was married and had no job to pay the fine.
Sumpeng told the court that he could not work anymore due to old age. His wife had passed away, and one of his two children was blind.
In the second case, Senaun committed the offence at 2.33am on Feb 23 at Rajang River in Kanowit.
He was found to have 62 logs of various sizes and species, all of which did not bear any registered property mark.
In mitigation, he said he received instruction from his employer to send the logs to Tanjong Manis. He said he tried to contact his employer after the incident but could not be reached.
He said he needed to support his children, one of whom is furthering her studies at Peninsular Malaysia.
He is a carpenter and a farmer earning between RM500 and RM600 a month.
The third case involved Dahnial, Teo, Puntol, and Nur Azmina who committed the offence at 8.48am on Feb 25 at Rajang River in Sibu. They were found to have in their possession 34 logs of various sizes and species in two boats. The logs did not bear any registered property marks.
Dahnial said she was married to Nur Azmina and had two children.
He said he had no stable job and just like the others, they just followed instructions from their employer to send the logs to Sibu.
He only earned between RM400 and RM500 per month as a farmer.
Teo and Puntol also told the court that they did not have a stable job, earning only about RM300 a month doing odd jobs.
Senaun (right) walks out of the courtroom after the sentencing.