Firm charged with making tree extinct

Firm charged with making tree extinct

SINGAPORE: A company has been charged in court with felling the last remaining specimen of the tree species that gave Singapore's Changi airport its name, a newspaper reported on Tuesday.

Property developer DTZ Debenham Tie Leung last year acknowledged it had felled the 150-year old Chengal Pasir, or Hopea sangal, which gave Changi its name, the Straits Times said.

If convicted, the company could be fined a maximum of S$10,000 (US$5,700).

The company admitted to chopping down the tree without government permission in a letter to the newspaper last year, but it said the tree was infested with termites and posed a danger to area residents. --AP