Tribe leader arrested for illegal land sale in Lampung
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Tue, 03/06/2012 7:15 PM
(Antaranews.com)
Wan Mauli Baheramsyah Sanggem, the chief of the Megou Pak tribe, was arrested on Monday night for the alleged unauthorized sale of tribal lands.
“His modus operandi was to offer a 2.25 hectare plot of land to local residents for Rp 1 million [US$109] and to newcomers for Rp 1.5 million. He told his potential buyers that the land he sold was a part of the Megou Pak tribe’s sanctuary land,” Lampung Police spokesman Adj. Sr. Comr. Sulistyaningsih said on Tuesday as quoted by kompas.com.
Wan Mauli will be charged with fraud and embezzlement, which each carry a maximum penalty of five years’ imprisonment.
Land disputes in Lamoung have been in the spotlight since PT Silva Inhutani Lampung alleged that local residents were illegally occupying part of 43,000 hectares managed by the plantation company.
A police officer allegedly shot and killed a villager as officers evicted from hamlet owned by the company in November 2010.
Local residents, encouraged by Megou Pak leaders, have refused to move, claiming that they were living on part of the tribe’s sanctuary land.
As previously reported, new arrivals often paid tribal leaders before settling but were not given official certificates to prove their land ownership.
