Man sentenced to life in protective forest for cutting wood to build house
(Baonghean.vn) - Because of the need to use wood to build a house, Va Giong Lau (born in 1974), residing in Long Keo village, Muong Long commune, Ky Son district, entered the protected forest area, which is a natural forest, to exploit 7,302 m3 of goi wood. The subject will be brought to trial on October 5, 2023.
According to the indictment, around mid-March 2023, Va Giong Lau brought a chainsaw into the protected forest area, which is a natural forest in Lot B, Khoanh 8, Sub-area 393, Muong Long 1 village, Muong Long commune, Ky Son district, to exploit wood.
Here, Lau sawed off 1 (one) goi tree about 20m high, about 70cm in diameter, then split the tree into many panels and transported it home to hide. The incident was later discovered and prosecuted by the Ky Son District Forest Protection Department.
According to the appraisal conclusion of the Forest Industry Research Institute under the Vietnam Forestry Science Institute: "The type of wood called goi nep(Aglaia spectabilis)classified in group IV in the "Temporary classification table of wood types used uniformly throughout the country" issued with Decision No. 2198-CNR dated November 26, 1977 of the Ministry of Forestry - now the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development".
At the trial, defendant Va Giong Lau admitted all the acts as charged in the indictment. The defendant said that due to difficult family circumstances and limited legal awareness, he violated the law and hoped the panel of judges would reduce his sentence.
Based on the nature and severity of the defendant's crime, the People's Court sentenced defendant Va Giong Lau to 8 months in prison, but suspended the sentence, with a probationary period of 16 months.
