A 26-year-old man has been charged for chopping trees in a forest in Sha Tau Kok.

Villagers of Ha Wo Hang and Loy Tung at Sha Tau Kok recently complained to Police that many trees had been cut in the nearby forests.

On January 12,  Sha Tau Kok Division Police officers visited Loy Tung village where they stopped the man who was holding a plastic bag with 40 pieces of wood weighing 13.2 kilograms.

The man admitted that he had chopped trees to get the wood in a Ha Wo Hang village forest at about 8am.

Officers took the man to the forest where fresh cuts were discovered on two tree trunks, along with some shavings on the ground.

They arrested the man, who had come from Mainland China on December 23 to cut the wood to take to China for making incense.

The Agriculture, Fisheries & Conservation Department said the trees the man cut are incense trees, known as Aquilaria sinensis.

The man was charged last night and will appear in Fanling Magistrates' Courts today.