Vietnamese tried for log smuggling

Vietnamese tried for log smuggling

JAKARTA: Ngo Van Toan, 45, of Vietnam, the captain of the MV
Bravery Falcon, went on trial on Monday at the North Jakarta
District Court on log smuggling charges.

Prosecutor Suharto charged the defendant under the 1999
Forestry Law for allegedly carrying or possessing undocumented
timber.

The Mongolian-flagged Bravery Falcon was stopped on Dec. 9,
2003, in the waters of Papua, carrying 14,229 cubic meters of
dark red timber, or meranti, to China. Some 10,422 cubic meters
of the timber was undocumented.

The prosecutor also charged the defendant under Law No.
21/1999 on shipping, for not notifying authorities upon entering
Indonesian waters.

Presiding judge Sarehwiyono adjourned the trial until
Thursday, at which time the court will hear from witnesses. --JP