20 Forestry staff sacked
Daily Express
Kota Kinabalu: About 20 State Forestry Department staff have been sacked for collaborating with illegal loggers over the past 10 years.
Disclosing this to Daily Express, its Director Sam Mannan said these cases involved mostly general labourers found guilty by the court.
"Normally, the usual procedure would require the staff concerned to be charged in court with the offence and the department would suspend their services pending trial. The department is only empowered to terminate the services of our personnel when they are found accountable for the offence which is mostly cooperating with illegal loggers to carry out their felling activities in forest reserves," he said.
He was asked about the number of the staff sacked for committing offences under the Forestry Enactment. Sam earlier closed a month-long course on prosecution procedures jointly organised by the Kuala Lumpur PDRM College and Sabah Forestry Department.
It involved 26 forestry officers and seven personnel from the Land and Survey Department, Drainage and Irrigation Department (DID), Environment Protection Department (EPD), Wildlife Department, and Sabah Parks.
The course aimed to enhance the level of competency among forestry officers to prosecute cases in court as well as their capability to carry out investigations. He said the department would be firm in taking disciplinary action against errant staff.
"We will arrest the alleged staff accused of committing the offences and bring them to face the full force of the law, regardless of their connections.
"And the department will execute its power accordingly within its jurisdiction." Sam reminded personnel to discharge their duties with integrity, efficiency and trustworthiness. "You (the participants) are responsible to be effective in your work and are answerable to the public.
"Do not cheat and do not hide things that are unlawful. It is better for you to admit and face the consequences. Because if you don't, I will find out about it sooner or later," he said. Sam said the department is training the forestry officers to be competent prosecutors so that it would have its own core team of investigation and prosecution personnel to handle the forestry cases.
He said the department could not totally depend on its existing three lawyers as their workload is quite heavy and that the department wished to avoid postponements which could lead to cases being thrown out.
Kota Kinabalu: About 20 State Forestry Department staff have been sacked for collaborating with illegal loggers over the past 10 years.
Disclosing this to Daily Express, its Director Sam Mannan said these cases involved mostly general labourers found guilty by the court.
"Normally, the usual procedure would require the staff concerned to be charged in court with the offence and the department would suspend their services pending trial. The department is only empowered to terminate the services of our personnel when they are found accountable for the offence which is mostly cooperating with illegal loggers to carry out their felling activities in forest reserves," he said.
He was asked about the number of the staff sacked for committing offences under the Forestry Enactment. Sam earlier closed a month-long course on prosecution procedures jointly organised by the Kuala Lumpur PDRM College and Sabah Forestry Department.
It involved 26 forestry officers and seven personnel from the Land and Survey Department, Drainage and Irrigation Department (DID), Environment Protection Department (EPD), Wildlife Department, and Sabah Parks.
The course aimed to enhance the level of competency among forestry officers to prosecute cases in court as well as their capability to carry out investigations. He said the department would be firm in taking disciplinary action against errant staff.
"We will arrest the alleged staff accused of committing the offences and bring them to face the full force of the law, regardless of their connections.
"And the department will execute its power accordingly within its jurisdiction." Sam reminded personnel to discharge their duties with integrity, efficiency and trustworthiness. "You (the participants) are responsible to be effective in your work and are answerable to the public.
"Do not cheat and do not hide things that are unlawful. It is better for you to admit and face the consequences. Because if you don't, I will find out about it sooner or later," he said. Sam said the department is training the forestry officers to be competent prosecutors so that it would have its own core team of investigation and prosecution personnel to handle the forestry cases.
He said the department could not totally depend on its existing three lawyers as their workload is quite heavy and that the department wished to avoid postponements which could lead to cases being thrown out.
posted by Gundohing at
5:53 PM
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