news:daily express:Mangrove tree bark theft: 19 illegals get jail :1 july 09

Kota Kinabalu: Nineteen foreigners were jailed 10 months by the court last month for having 177 bundles of a mangrove tree bark known locally as tangar, believed harvested illegally.
They were among 20 people arrested by the Marine Operations Force in an operation dubbed Ops Octopus off Tanjung Semangant in Beluran on May 24.
The marine unit led by Sgt Suhaimi Abdul Halim came across the suspects' vessel and after an inspection found the mangrove barks, believed felled from the coastal mangrove forest reserves nearby, at about 2pm.
In a statement here, Tuesday, Sabah Forestry Department Director Datuk Sam Mannan said the barks, weighing about 18 tonnes, would be worth about RM70,800 if sold in a neighbouring country.
"(The bark) was subsequently seized and the 20 men onboard the vessel arrested under the Forest Enactment 1968. Of the 20, 19 had no identification documents," he said.
On June 2, the 19 pleaded guilty to a charge under Section 30(1)(g) of the Forest Enactment 1968 for illegal possession of forest produce. The prosecution was represented by Forestry Department Prosecution Officer, Peter Maurice Lidadun.
"One of the accused in possession of identification papers, pleaded not guilty and the Magistrate's Court fixed Aug 3 for the date of trial."
Mannan said the case was a culmination of several other operations successfully conducted by the Marine Operations Force with the Forestry Department over the last two years to combat illegal bark stripping.
"This has resulted in the arrest and successful prosecution of 40 people over the last two years, including this recent case, and the seizure of 912 bundles of tangar, three vessels, three chainsaws, 23 small boats and engines, and various contraptions used for extracting tangar bark."
Once the bark is stripped, the mangrove trees would die and along with it a whole ecosystem that is full of biodiversity.
Coupled with the close proximity of international waters, the isolated northern mangrove forests of the Pitas coastline made it easier for illegal mangrove bark hunters to penetrate and escape, Mannan said, adding security was also a concern for enforcement officers.
"The Forestry Department has relied heavily on the assistance of the marine police particularly in joint operations."
He added the department will continue with its surveillance by sea, land and by air in particular, to monitor the situation and mount periodic anti-poaching operations in this northern region.
For the record, 1,235 people have been arrested for various forest offences between 2002 and 2008, and 90 so far this year.