Contractor fined RM9,500 for encroaching on Similajau National Park, doing construction work

BINTULU (Oct 23): The Sessions Court here yesterday fined a local contractor a total of RM9,500 in default 15 months in jail after he pleaded guilty to five charges of encroachment and conducting construction work within Similajau National Park.

Sessions Court Judge Leo Saga convicted Jong Soon Lip, 53, to charges under under Section 26(a), (c), (d), (j) and (l) of the National Parks and Nature Reserves Ordinance 1998 (Chapter 27) for offences committed at 9am on Aug 31, 2023, when a team of park rangers from Sarawak Forestry Corporation conducted a routine patrol.

Jong’s excavator was found inside a cleared area within the national park.

According to the facts, Jong was hired by Ling Eng Ting, 62, to do land clearing and install culverts within the cleared areas.

Jong, the owner and operator of the excavator, was found with the culverts.

The entering and land clearing activities were all done without any permission from the controller of National Parks and Nature Reserves.

Each of the respective charges carries a fine of up to RM5,000, or imprisonment for one year, or both upon conviction.

Ling was previously convicted of similar offences in December 2023 for encroachment and conducting land clearing activities within Similajau National Park.

In addition to the fines, a warrant of eviction has been issued pursuant to Section 33 of the National Parks and Nature Reserve 1998 (Chapter 27) for the convicted persons as trespassers into the national park.

Deputy public prosecutor Ronald Felix Hardin, Christie Sereni Philimon of the State Attorney-General’s Chambers, and prosecuting officer Leonard Baring handled the prosecution, while Jong was unrepresented by legal counsel.