The Siem Reap Provincial Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries has fined a lorry driver for transporting Sakrom timber without a permit after he arrived carrying an amount of wood via truck from Preah Vihear province.

Provincial Forestry Administration director Mong Bunlim said on Monday that police had detained the lorry driver and issued a fine, but would not be sending him to court.

“We did not send the driver to court and just fined him under Article 96 of the Forestry Law for transporting timber without a permit. This was not rosewood, only Sakrom timber.

“But if he had cut down the trees or cleared forest land, we could send him to court because deforestation can be classified under Article 97,” he said.

After questioning, he said the driver agreed to call the owner of the wood to pay a fine under the Forestry Law because he was not the owner.

Bunlim did not know the name of the owner as the person is in the process of being contacted to pay a fine.

The driver was detained after arriving in Svay Leu district’s Boeung Mealea commune, where he experienced a flat tire, leading to reporters and then police inspecting the lorry.

The lorry and timber is now being kept at the Banteay Srei district Forestry Administration headquarters.

Siem Reap Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries director Tea Kimsoth said on Monday that officials seized the truck on March 1 as it transported the Sakrom timber from Preah Vihear to Siem Reap.

“Right now we are measuring it, so I don’t know the amount of timber as yet. The suspect who is the driver is still being questioned,” he said.