Danang City officials have vowed to strictly punish anyone involved in a case which resulted in a large cash of timber found near the office of local forest rangers.
On October 27, during the meeting on the illegal logging, at Ba Na-Nui Chua’s special-use forest, many officials suggested that illegal loggers could be getting help from forest rangers. The issue was brought up in the wake of an incident in which 43 cubic metres of timber were found near the station of forest rangers.
Pham Ngoc Su, director of the Ba Na-Nui Chua Forest Management Unit, said, “We’ve tried to extract explanations from those employed at the Ca Nhong Forest Protection Department, and those found to have been involved will be replaced with more capable officials.”
Tran Van Luong, head of the Danang Sub-Department of Forest Protection, said, “We have no intention of covering up for corrupt officials or loggers. Corrupt officials will be prosecuted.” A number of other officials agreed that the amount of timber discovered was due cause for prosecution.
The vice chairman of Danang People’s Committee also agreed that it was a matter to be taken seriously and asked agencies to strictly deal with violators.
On routine patrol, a team from the Quang Nam Province Department of Forest Protection found over 10 cubic metres of illegally-cut timber at two carpentry workshops on October 24. On expansion of the investigation, they found more wood that had been buried. This wood was in close proximity to the district’s administrative area as well as the Ca Nhong Forest Protection Department.
Last week, dozens of cubic metres of illegal timber were also found near Ba Na-Nui Chua special-use forest.
Five officials at the Ca Nhong Forest Protection Department have been called to testify in the investigation.
Đăng ký: VietNam News