Two Vietnamese migrant workers have been sentenced to one year and four months in prison, and fined NT$3 million (US$104,330) each for cutting a truckload of knots from protected cypress trees, the Nantou District Court said in its verdict on Sunday.
The men, surnamed Vo and Phan, were arrested in November 2020 after police caught them transporting the wood in a mountainous area in Nantou County’s Renai Township (仁愛), the court said.
Their vehicle contained 93 burls, weighing 310kg, that had been cut from Taiwan cypress trees, the court said, adding that the wood had an estimated value of NT$2.6 million.
A third suspect, surnamed Bui, was also arrested, but he died before he could be formally charged, the court said, not providing further details.
Several other suspects fled the vehicle when it was stopped by police, the court said.
Burls are knotted growths found on the outside of certain tree species. They are valued for use in furniture and wood carvings due to their unique grain.
Vo and Phan told the court that Bui had invited them to go into the mountains, but had not explained what they would be doing there.
However, prosecutors said that the men had taken a little-used road into a densely forested area and removed a significant number of burls.
In its ruling, the court found both men guilty of illegally logging a precious variety of wood.
The ruling can be appealed.
Under Article 50 of the Forestry Act (森林法), the penalty for stealing forest products or by-products is a prison sentence of six months to five years and a fine of between NT $300,000 and NT$3 million.
If the stolen wood is regarded as “precious wood with high economic or ecological value,” as determined by the government, the penalty can be increased by half, the law states.
Taiwan cypress trees are an endemic protected species classified as “precious.”
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