Chinese tried for smuggling

SURABAYA, East Java: A Taiwanese national is being tried in court here on charges of trying to smuggle ebony out of the country.

In the opening trial, the government prosecutor said the accused colluded with a local business woman to illegally export 109 cubic meters of ebony.

The defendant, the prosecutor said, had the export documents forged, causing the state to lose Rp 74 million ($35,000) in tax. pan)