Locals damage protected forest

PURWOKERTO, Central Java: Some 300 people went on a rampage on Sunday in a protected teakwood forest in Kubangkangkung village, Kawunganten district, Cilacap, some 245 kilometers south of the Central Java capital of Semarang.

The incident was sparked by rumors that police had shot and killed a local resident on Saturday for stealing wood.

Cilacap Police chief Comr. Bambang Hermanu confirmed the incident on Monday, saying the locals, using chain saws, cut a large number of trees and burned two posts belonging to forest rangers.

"The action was prompted by rumors that one of 20 illegal loggers was shot dead by police Mobile Brigade officers on Saturday," Bambang said. "The officers did shoot Suwardi, but he is alive because the officers used rubber bullets."

According to Bambang, 10 Mobile Brigade officers were attempting to stop the 20 locals from cutting down trees. "Our men had to shoot them. One of the locals, Suwardi, was shot. His family then rushed him to the nearest health center for treatment. Hours later rumors began to spread that Suwardi was dead."

An employee at the health center, Ani Puji, confirmed on Monday that a man identified as Suwardi was treated at the health center for a gunshot wound. "But no one died in the health center," she told The Jakarta Post.

Bambang said 13 logs and a number of chain saws and swords were confiscated on Sunday. He added that the teakwood trees were between 15 and 20 years old. (45/sur)