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Police last (January 13) night charged a 26-year-old man with acts prohibited in forests after he was found having cut trees in a forest in Sha Tau Kok.

Enquiries revealed that villagers of Ha Wo Hang Village and Loy Tung Village at Sha Tau Kok recently complained to Police that many trees were cut in the forests of the villages.

Acting on information, on January 12 afternoon police officers of Sha Tau Kok Division proceeded to Loy Tung Village where they intercepted the man holding a big plastic bag containing 40 pieces of cut wood with a total weight of 13.2 kilograms.

Upon questioning, the man admitted that he got the wood by cutting trees with a chopper in a forest of Ha Wo Hang Village at about 8 am.

In the afternoon, the man was taken to the forest of Ha Wo Hang Village where fresh cuts were discovered on the trunks of two trees and some debris of cut wood was located on the soil.

The man, who came from Mainland China on December 23, 2003 for cutting the wood for taking it to China for making incense, was arrested.

The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department revealed that the trees cut are incense trees and their scientific name is Aquilaria sinensis.

The arrested man was charged last night and will appear in Fanling Magistrates' Courts today (January 14).

Police Report No.1

Issued by PPRB

End/0030 hours, Wednesday, January 14, 2004 (PW)

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