TAIPING: Three men who were caught illegally clearing land at Jebong Forest Reserve in Kuala Sepetang here were nabbed by the State Forestry Department yesterday.
State Forestry Department director Datuk Roslan Ariffin said the three had cleared a total of three hectares of land in the forest reserve to make way for an oil palm plantation.
"We received a tip-off from members of the public on the matter. The trio was caught red-handed during the 11am raid.
"During the arrest, we also seized two excavators, a Toyota Hilux and a Honda motorcycle. The seized items are worth about RM200,000," he said during a press conference after launching the Social Forestry Programme at SMK Doktor Burhanuddin here today.
Roslan also called on the public to alert the department if they notice any such activity in the forest.
“(The public needs to understand that) 48 per cent of the state consists of forest – (that’s) nearly 1 million hectares.
"It is impossible for us to monitor all the forests in the state. As such, cooperation from the public is needed," he added.