RULING 22nd July, 2005

At all material times, the plaintiff was engaged in trading activities involving the import of logs and their subsequeuent export and or sale of the imported logs to local sawmills in the district of Tawau, in the State of Sabah.

The following are the statements of agreed facts of both parties:-

(1) At all material times, the Ministry of Primary Industries Malaysia had approved the plaintiff's application to import 100,000 cubic meters (m3) of logs for sale to local sawmills in Tawau as well as to import 50,000 m3 of logs for exporting sale;

(2) On 18th January, 1997 the Defendant seized 3,056 logs comprising of 980 logs which were in the process of being loaded onto the vessel MV ABLE HELSMAN and a further 2,076 logs which were still at Wallace Bay, Tawau;

(3) At the time of the said seizure, the 980 logs measured 7,072.44 m3 which was valued at RM2,263,180.80 at the material time;

(4) At the time of the said seizure, the 2,076 logs measured 15,805.20 m3 which was valued at RM6,005,976.00 at the material time;

(5) At the date of the said seizure, the plaintiff still had an unexhausted quota of 67,830 m3 logs to be imported for the purpose of supplying to loc