Forestry office head goes on trial

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