THREE CAMBODIAN MEN JAILED NINE MONTHS FOR UNLAWFUL POSSESSION OF AGARWOOD

KUANTAN, Jan 7 (Bernama) -- Three Cambodian nationals were today sentenced to nine months’ jail by the Sessions Court for unlawful possession of agarwood in October last year.

Judge Sazlina Safie handed down the sentence to Toek Tan, 41, Sin Sor, 49, and Nget Koy, 60, after they pleaded guilty when the charge was read out in Cambodian by a court interpreter.

The trio were charged with possessing about 16.55 kilogrammes of agarwood at a house in Taman Chendor Darat 1 on Oct 13, without paying the required royalty, premium, and cess to the Pahang state government.

The charge, framed under Section 84(1) of the National Forestry Act 1984 and punishable under Section 84(4) of the same Act read together with Section 34 of the Penal Code, carries a maximum fine of RM50,000, up to five years’ imprisonment, or both upon conviction.

According to the facts of the case, a team of the Forestry Department of Peninsular Malaysia rangers inspected the house at around 9 am on Oct 13 and found three Cambodian men processing agarwood.

The three foreigners told the authorities that they were carrying out the work on the instructions of a 42-year-old man who claimed to be the owner of the forest produce.

During the inspection, the team confiscated the agarwood, valued at about RM18,700, along with four chainsaws, a digital weighing scale, and eight tools for cleaning agarwood.

Deputy Public Prosecutor of the Forestry Department of Peninsular Malaysia, Muhammad Shahrezal Mohd Shukri, urged the court to impose a prison sentence as a warning to the public to comply with state forestry laws and to forfeit the seized items to the Pahang state government.

-- BERNAMA