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Central Java Teen Faces 10 Years for Stealing 2 Trees
Heru Andryanto & Antara | May 03, 2010

Illegal logging activities such as those pictured in West Papua province rarely cause legal problems for those involved. The same cannot be said for a 17-year-old teenager who is facing 10 years in jail for helping fell two pine trees. (AFP Photo/Greenpeace/Ardiles Rante) Illegal logging activities such as those pictured in West Papua province rarely cause legal problems for those involved. The same cannot be said for a 17-year-old teenager who is facing 10 years in jail for helping fell two pine trees. (AFP Photo/Greenpeace/Ardiles Rante)
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In a country where most big-time illegal loggers are able to skirt punishment or get away with light sentences, a Central Java teenager is facing up to 10 years in prison for allegedly stealing two pine trees from a state-owned forestry company. 

Rahardiyan Prasetyo, the legal counsel for the 17-year-old suspect, on Monday said the Navan District Court had charged his client with violating the 1999 Forestry Law, which carries a maximum jail term of 10 years. 

PT Perum Perhutani, which owned the trees, filed the police complaint against the teen. 

Rahardiyan said a trial was not called for because his client, a resident of Cilongok subdistrict in Banyumas district, was a minor and had already confessed to the offense. 

The decision to charge the teen is expected to draw criticism from various groups, including environmentalists who have urged the government to go after syndicates amassing billions of rupiah from illegally acquired timber. 

Most of these big-time illegal loggers are rarely caught, however, leading many to believe that the government is powerless to stop them. 

Magdalena Sitorus, from the National Commission for Child Protection (Komnas Anak), criticized authorities for bringing charges against the 17-year-old suspect, but said this kind of overreaction was not unheard of. 

She cited a recent case in Kediri, East Java, in which police arrested a teenager for stealing trees also owned by Perhutani. 

“The boy agreed to make a written statement to the effect that he would never commit the act again, but police insisted on charging him under the Criminal Code,” Magdalena said. 

“I don’t condone [the boys’] acts, but authorities need to put things in the proper perspective.” 

Magdalena added that authorities should not push through with the trial against the Central Java teenager, saying the court’s decision was made with little regard for the boy’s welfare. 

“When children or teenagers find themselves at the wrong end of the law, the authorities should exercise restraint by not charging them under the Criminal Code,” she said. 

“Their acts, such as theft, may be liable to criminal charges, but there should be efforts made to understand why they did what they did. Above all, authorities must keep in mind that the suspects are children and must be treated differently from adults.” 

Magdalena said that in most cases young offenders came from poor and uneducated families. 

“A boy is being tried for stealing pine trees? This only adds to the many cases in which police have arrested juvenile offenders from low-income families, those with little knowledge of the law and unable to speak up for themselves, whose bargaining position is weak,” she said. 

“Why don’t law enforcers instead go after those who have cost the state billions of rupiah in losses?”