Le Van That and Pham Van Dung, deputy directors of the U Minh Thuong National Park in the Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang, were punished Tuesday for turning a blind eye to the logging of six hectares (15 acres) of forest.

The Thanh Nien newspaper said the pair gave relatives and friends permission to "prune" trees in the park, which is one of the world's largest peat swamps and home to endangered otters and other rare mammals and birds.

The loggers were caught red-handed by provincial forest rangers last July.

More than 3,000 hectares (7,500 acres) of the park were destroyed in a large blaze in April 2002.

TERRA.WIRE