Councillor to be tried over tiger skin

Councillor to be tried over tiger skin

BENGKULU: Bengkulu district court will soon conduct the trial of
councillor RK on charges of possessing a tiger pelt.

R. Radjagukguk, a prosecutor in the case, said on Thursday
that the case file had been finalized and handed over to the
district court.

"The defendant, a Golkar Party member of North Bengkulu
regency council, will go on trial on Friday," he said.

Radjagukguk said that he would present witness Agus Priambudi,
the head of Bengkulu's Natural Resources Conservation Board,
during the first session.

RK was arrested by police and forestry office officials during
a raid in December last year. The officials seized the tiger pelt
from him.

The defendant stands accused of violating Article 40 of the
Law on Natural Resources and Ecosystem Conservation, which
carries a maximum sentence of five years in jail and a maximum
fine of Rp 100 million. -- Antara