Forestry office head goes on trial

JAYAPURA, Papua: A senior government official went on trial on Thursday for knowingly issuing illegal permits to loggers in Papua province.

During the opening hearing in the Jayapura District Court, Prosecutor Djabaik Haro charged Marthen Kayoi, the director of the Papua Forestry Office, with abusing a scheme that allowed Papuans to selectively log timber for cultural reasons.

Kayoi, along with the West Irian Jaya Provincial Forestry Office director, Marthen Rumadas, was arrested by police on March 11 this year for issuing logging permits that were later found to be illegal.

The two are charged with violating the Forestry Law. If found guilty, they could face a maximum sentence of five years in jail. -- JP