SANDAKAN – With the help of a drone, the Sabah Forestry Department managed to stop a group of foreigners from stealing tangar tree bark at the Terusan forest reserve in Kinabatangan last Tuesday.
In a statement today, Sabah chief forest conservator Frederick Kugan said a 16-year-old Filipino from Taganak island in the Philippines was arrested, together with 950kg of tangar tree bark estimated to be worth about RM12,350.
The suspect was arrested under Section 30 (1)(g) of Forest Enactment 1968 for illegal possession of tangar tree bark.
As the suspect is under the age of 18, he will be deported back to his country by the Immigration Department.
However, during the raid, the suspect’s accomplices managed to escape.
At the scene, they also discovered eight camps, nine Bogo-Bogo boats, cooking utensils, rice, clothes, and equipment used to strip tangar tree bark.
“The location involves 78,000ha of land in Kinabatangan and Segama, which is one pf the biggest Ramsar (Wetlands of International Importance) sites in Malaysia.
“The whole world is paying attention to this site.
“Such criminal activity will tarnish the image of the state and nation if we fail to curb it.
“The mangrove ecosystem here is also an important fish habitat and breeding site in Sabah,” Kugan said.
During the raid by the department’s special enforcement unit dubbed the Protect Team, he said, the suspect was busy moving tangar tree bark into the boats.
Kugan estimated roughly 170 trees spanning 2ha of land had been cut down by the group.
“The modus operandi of the syndicate saw the Filipinos enter the forest reserves illegally using boats, with locals aiding their activity.
“Sabah has about 300,000ha of mangrove areas, the biggest in Malaysia. Isolated areas that are close to the beach make up one of our biggest concerns.
“We found that Sg Pitas, Sg Inarab, Sg Sugut, Pulau Jambongan, Pulau Bangi, and Kuala Meruap are among the targeted areas for tangar thefts with the group based in the Philippines.
“These locations have a dense population of tangar trees, and tangar tree bark is extracted to make colouring for clothes and beverages.
“We urge the locals to support the Forestry Department by supplying useful information, and to never work with the criminals in their activity,” he added.
In October last year, The Vibes reported that for years, foreign syndicates have been stealing tangar tree bark, which is in high demand in the Philippines, from Sabah’s forest reserves.
Meanwhile, Kugan said that a migrant, Rakib Ali, 38, was sentenced to three months of imprisonment in Sandakan’s sessions court for illegal possession of tangar tree bark after his arrest in the Paitan forest reserve, Pulau Jambongan, recently.
Kugan said that the Forestry Department had made six arrests relating to the theft of tangar tree bark this year. – The Vibes, September 9, 2021
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