10 Lombong timah haram
Oleh Mohd Husni Mohd Noor
mhusni@hmetro.com.my
mhusni@hmetro.com.my
Sabtu, Mar 03, 2012
PENGKALAN HULU: Misteri kewujudan lebih 10 lombong bijih timah di kawasan terpencil di dalam hutan simpan di sini, akhirnya terjawab apabila ia dikesan menjadi ‘markas’ sindiket pelombongan haram terbesar di negeri ini.
Lebih mengejutkan, lombong bijih timah di kawasan seluas 21 hektar di Wilayah Sungai Kuak, Lepang Nenering dalam kawasan Hutan Simpan Nenering, di sini, mampu menjana lebih 20 tan bijih timah dianggarkan bernilai lebih RM1.4 juta.
Difahamkan, kegiatan itu didalangi seorang individu dipercayai sudah melabur lebih RM500,000 untuk ‘membersihkan’ kawasan hutan simpan itu termasuk menyediakan peralatan melombong menggunakan teknologi terkini dari Australia.
Aktiviti haram itu dibongkar sepasukan anggota penguat kuasa semalam dan menahan seorang lelaki berusia 47 tahun dipercayai tauke kegiatan perlombongan itu di sebuah kedai makan di Hentian Rawat dan Rehat Padang Tamat, kira-kira jam 12.15 tengah hari.
Tangkapan itu hasil operasi bersepadu Pejabat Tanah dan Galian (PTG) Perak dengan kerjasama Suruhanjaya Pencegahan Rasuah Malaysia (SPRM) Putrajaya.
Siasatan awal mengesan wujud aktiviti pembalakan haram di kawasan itu berikutan kerja pembersihan kawasan dijalankan di lokasi itu bagi memudahkan aktiviti perlombongan di jalankan.
Jurucakap PTG berkata. lelaki itu ditahan selepas cuba memberi rasuah RM1,000 kepada seorang pegawai SPRM sebagai usaha untuk tidak mengambil tindakan dan pujukan tidak mengganggu operasi haram itu.
“Lelaki itu ditahan mengikut Seksyen 425 dan Seksyen 426 Kesalahan Kanun Tanah Negara 1965 kerana pendudukan secara tidak sah tanah kerajaan dan pencabutan atau pemindahan bahan bertuan secara tidak sah,” katanya.
Katanya, serbuan semalam turut menyita beberapa mesin dan peralatan mendulang serta tiga lori hantu dan satu jengkaut yang dianggarkan bernilai RM1 juta.
Sementara itu, sumber SPRM berkata, lelaki itu kini ditahan mengikut Seksyen 17(b) Akta SPRM 2009 untuk siasatan lanjut sebelum dibebaskan dengan jaminan kerana kesalahan merasuah penjawat awam.
“Kami masih menjalankan siasatan lanjut bagi mengenal pasti sama ada kegiatan perlombongan itu turut membabitkan beberapa individu lain termasuk pegawai atau kakitangan beberapa jabatan atau agensi berkaitan,” katanya.
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Right under their noses
By JASPAL SINGH
jaspal@nst.com.my
jaspal@nst.com.my
Illegal mining goes on for three months after govt officers 'persuaded' to look the other way
PENGKALAN HULU: FOR more than three months, right under the noses of the district-level authorities, blatant violations of the law were being committed by an illegal mine operator.
From mining sand without valid permit, encroaching into forest reserve land without permission, unlawfully diverting river flow and mining tin ore without approval, an illegal mining contractor was able to carry out his activities unhindered.
The man is alleged to have "negotiated" with certain government officers at the district level to close an eye to his illegal activities.
During the three months he had been operating the illegal tin mine at Lepang Nenering here, the man had mined more than 20 tonnes of tin ore in the interior region of the heavily-forested Pengkalan Hulu district. And, with price per tonne of the metal fetching about US$21,000 (RM63,000), the man allegedly had no qualms about paying out money every month to certain officers who were allegedly working hand-in-glove with him to ensure that his activities were not disrupted.
However, it all came to an end when the man was arrested yesterday afternoon by a team from the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission headquarters in Putrajaya, Perak Land and Mines Department and Perak Geoscience and Minerals Department.
Speaking to the New Straits Times Press team, a senior officer with the Perak Land and Mines Department's enforcement division said the 47-year-old man was arrested when he gave a bribe of RM1,000 to the department's officers.
"He handed the money and promised to pay more every month, provided that the Land and Mines Department did not take action against him. The man was arrested by the MACC as soon as the bribe was given," said the officer, speaking on condition of anonymity. He said his department would investigate the suspect under the National Land Code for illegally occupying government land and for unlawfully extracting earth materials.
A visit to the illegal tin mine, 18km from here, showed that the operator had opened several small mining ponds spread over 20ha of felled forest using two chain excavators, a tractor and a gravel pump system.
The machinery and three lorries used to transport mined earth, worth about RM1 million, were seized by the Land and Mines Department.
An MACC spokesman said the commission would be investigating officers from several government departments at the district level on suspicion of taking kickbacks from the suspect.
"They are suspected of accepting money from the suspect based on their inaction. We also have the suspect's confession that he had given kickbacks to them since he started the mining operation three months ago.
"The public tip-offs the MACC received also point to some form of irregularity on the part of the local-level authorities."
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| An MACC officer surveys the mining pool from the sluice gates of the illegal tin mine, near Pengkalan Hulu. Officers arrested a 47-year-old man yesterday for illegally operating a tin mine and for trying to bribe enforcement officers. Pix by Ikhwan Munir |
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| This huge structure was used in the illegal mining of tin. |
PENGKALAN HULU: FOR more than three months, right under the noses of the district-level authorities, blatant violations of the law were being committed by an illegal mine operator.
From mining sand without valid permit, encroaching into forest reserve land without permission, unlawfully diverting river flow and mining tin ore without approval, an illegal mining contractor was able to carry out his activities unhindered.
The man is alleged to have "negotiated" with certain government officers at the district level to close an eye to his illegal activities.
During the three months he had been operating the illegal tin mine at Lepang Nenering here, the man had mined more than 20 tonnes of tin ore in the interior region of the heavily-forested Pengkalan Hulu district. And, with price per tonne of the metal fetching about US$21,000 (RM63,000), the man allegedly had no qualms about paying out money every month to certain officers who were allegedly working hand-in-glove with him to ensure that his activities were not disrupted.
However, it all came to an end when the man was arrested yesterday afternoon by a team from the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission headquarters in Putrajaya, Perak Land and Mines Department and Perak Geoscience and Minerals Department.
Speaking to the New Straits Times Press team, a senior officer with the Perak Land and Mines Department's enforcement division said the 47-year-old man was arrested when he gave a bribe of RM1,000 to the department's officers.
"He handed the money and promised to pay more every month, provided that the Land and Mines Department did not take action against him. The man was arrested by the MACC as soon as the bribe was given," said the officer, speaking on condition of anonymity. He said his department would investigate the suspect under the National Land Code for illegally occupying government land and for unlawfully extracting earth materials.
A visit to the illegal tin mine, 18km from here, showed that the operator had opened several small mining ponds spread over 20ha of felled forest using two chain excavators, a tractor and a gravel pump system.
The machinery and three lorries used to transport mined earth, worth about RM1 million, were seized by the Land and Mines Department.
An MACC spokesman said the commission would be investigating officers from several government departments at the district level on suspicion of taking kickbacks from the suspect.
"They are suspected of accepting money from the suspect based on their inaction. We also have the suspect's confession that he had given kickbacks to them since he started the mining operation three months ago.
"The public tip-offs the MACC received also point to some form of irregularity on the part of the local-level authorities."
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