Dutch pair
nabbed in reserve
By Shelton Hettiarachchi
Two Dutchmen were arrested by Forest Conservation Department (FCD)
officials for stealing two rare plants from a forest reserve in
Nuwara Eliya.
They were produced before Nuwara Eliya Magistrate Leon Berenger
who fined them Rs. 10,000 each. They were identified as Bruggeman
Pascal and Clement Antoon Lijonard, who while residing in a hotel
here, were said to be looking for rare plants.
Sri Lanka Environment Research and Conservation Society officials
had informed the FCDs regional office in Nuwara Eliya of the two
foreigners’ activities resulting in their arrest for trespassing
and collecting rare plants. District Range Officer Tilak Premakantha
directed the team which consisted of Additional Range Officer Siriwardene,
Forest Officer P.M. Dassanayake, Field Assistant Lakshman Jayatilleke,
Lecturer at the Sri Lanka Forest School D. Rajapakse and R. Dayawansa,
president of the Environment Research Society, to inquire into the
incident. The investigating team was able to take into custody some
rare plants uprooted by the two foreigners together with earth samples
they had collected for analysis.
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