Section 25
Sale and disposal of timber seized
of Forest Timber Enactment 2015
(1)
The Director may at any time direct that any timber seized under this
Enactment be sold and the proceeds of the sale be held while waiting for the result of any prosecution under this Enactment where -
(a)
the timber easily deteriorates in quality;
(b)
the custody of the timber involves unreasonable expense and inconvenience;
(c)
there is a lack or absence of adequate or proper facilities for the storage of the timber; or
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(d)
the timber is believed to cause an obstruction or to be a hazard to the public.
(2)
The Director may, in his discretion -
(a)
temporarily return the timber to the owner or to the person from whose possession, custody or control the timber was seized, subject to such terms and conditions as may be imposed by the
Director and in any case, subject to sufficient security being furnished to the satisfaction of the Director that the timber shall be surrendered to the Director on demand being made by the Director and that the said terms and conditions, if any, shall be complied with;
(b)
return the timber to the owner or to the person from whose possession, custody or control the timber was seized with liberty for the person to whom the timber is so returned to dispose of the same, such return being subject to security being furnished to the satisfaction of the Director in an amount of not less than an amount which, in the opinion of the Director, represents the open market value of such timber on the date on which it is so returned for the payment of the amount so secured to the Director in the event the court has made an order of forfeiture of such amount under section 33.
(3)
Notwithstanding subsection (1), where an analyst appointed under section 39 certifies, or if the results of such tests as certified by the analyst proved, that the timber tested by him deteriorates in quality, the Director may keep it in custody, or if no prosecution is instituted in respect of the timber, cause it to be disposed of in the manner determined by the Director.