A session court judge today discharged and acquitted Jacob Emang, a controversial Iban social activist in defending native customary rights (NCR) land in Sarawak’s Sri Aman Division, of an arson charge.

Judge Nixon Kennedy Kumbung made the decision in the Sri Aman session court this morning on the grounds that the prosecution had failed to establish a prima facie case against the accused, a former senior education officer.

The decision was made at the close of the hearing of the prosecution’s case without the defence being called as there was insufficient evidence to prove the charge, he added.

Emang, in his early sixties and a member of leading Iban NGO Sarawak Dayak Iban Association (Sadia), and four others were arrested in April this year after a timber company operating in Abok in the Pantu sub-district of Sri Aman Division, about 180km to the south of Kuching, the state capital, lodged a police report alleging arson on the company’s mobile camps.

Manager retracts complaint

The Iban land-owners in Abok had complained of encroachment by Syarikat Kotasa , the company which has been given a licence to extract commercial timber, on their NCR land, alleging destruction of their crops and sources of drinking waters.

Later, only Emang was charged under section 436 of the Penal Code for allegedly causing mischief by setting fire, an offence punishable up to 20 years jail and liable to a fine.

The company’s manager later retracted his complaint and admitted that the company was wrong to be occupying the land belonging to the natives, but the prosecution went ahead with the case regardless, although the accused’s lawyer Baru Bian had expected the charge to be dropped following.

Therefore, the hearing of the prosecution’s case continued and today was the hearing of the judge’s decision as to whether to call the accused to enter his defence or not..

Sri Aman-based lawyer Lepi Aron sat in as counsel for Baru Bian who had to be away from the state.

Emang told Malaysiakini that he was happy with the judge’s decision as he and the villagers had always maintained that the company was trespassing on native lands and that it was within their rights to do protect their interests.