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