Sydney gardener fined almost $200,000 for removing 287 trees to improve harbourside mansion’s water views

A Sydney gardener, Yi Wang, has been fined $187,500 for his role in the destruction of 287 trees in a council-owned foreshore bushland at Woodford Bay in Longueville. The incident occurred in late 2023.

The local council described the incident as the "worst act of environmental vandalism in Lane Cove history".

Yi Wang was initially hired to trim grass at a harbourside mansion, but the job escalated to include the unlawful felling of hundreds of native trees in protected bushland, with payments reportedly being left in a shoe.

Brief written by urgent.news from The Guardian, The Guardian Australia — 2 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.