Foreigner gets six months’ jail for encroaching, taking soil from Sarawak national park

KUCHING — The Sessions Court here on Wednesday (April 7) sentenced an Indonesian to a total of six months in jail for encroaching on Dered Krian National Park and removing objects of geological interest in the area.

Lukas Baidie, 36, pleaded guilty to the two charges read to him by a court interpreter.

According to the first charge, Lukas entered the national park without the permission of the controller of National Parks and Nature Reserves under Section 26(a) of the National Parks and Nature Reserves Ordinance 1998.

According to the second charge, he removed objects of geological interest without the permission from the National Parks and Nature Reserves controller under Section 26(g) of the National Parks and Nature Reserves Ordinance 1998.

The two acts were committed on April 3 at around 6am.

According to the facts of the case, Sarawak Forestry Corporation team members were conducting a routine inspection around the national park when they stumbled upon Lukas.

A check found that he was in possession of three gunny sacks filled with soil.

Investigations revealed that Lukas had removed the soil from Tabai Cave, which is located inside the Dered Krian National Park without the permission of the National Parks and Nature Reserves controller.

Judge Marutin Pagan sentenced Lukas to three months in jail for each charge.

He also ruled that both sentences run concurrently from the day of Lukas’ arrest on April 3.

Prosecuting officer Mohamad Fuad Ahmad from the Sarawak Attorney General’s Chambers prosecuted the case, while Lukas was unrepresented by counsel. – Borneo Post