PENALTIES FOR EXPLOITING RARE RESOURCES INADEQUATE: MAGISTRATE
Chief Magistrate Emmanuel Kouhota says the penalties for exploiting the country’s rare natural resources are grossly inadequate.
Chief Magistrate Kouhota made the statement today when sentencing a Taiwanese man to pay four thousand dollars in fines for attempting to export millions of dollars worth of tubi overseas.
He says it is unfortunate the penalties described for this type of offence is very inadequate.
He says it is a matter for the appropriate authorities to consider if we are serious about protecting our natural resources.
The accused, Hsieh Fu, was fined $2,000 for one count of attempted export of prohibited goods and $2,000 for one count of evasion of prohibited export of goods.
He was convicted under the Customs and Excise Act.
He, along with the manager of Chung Sol Company Teng Liu, tried to export seven containers of tubi logs in 2010.