Jakarta (ANTARA) – The Police Criminal Investigation Agency (Bareskrim) named nine individuals as corporate suspects in ongoing forest and land fire investigations as of Oct. 13.
“There are a total of nine suspects,” said Police Commissioner Pipit Subiyanto, Head of Subdirectorate III at Bareskrim’s Directorate for Certain Crimes, in a press statement on Wednesday.
Investigators have received 98 corporate fire reports handled across 10 regional police offices alongside Bareskrim’s directorate.
West Kalimantan Regional Police recorded the highest volume with 33 reports, followed by South Sumatra with 17, Central Kalimantan with 14, South Kalimantan with 11, and East Kalimantan with seven.
Additional reports include six in Riau, three each in Lampung and North Kalimantan, two in Jambi, and one each in the Bangka Belitung Islands and Bareskrim.
“Of the nine suspects in the forest and land fire case involving corporations, seven people are from West Kalimantan, one person is from Central Kalimantan, and another person is from South Kalimantan,” Subiyanto detailed.
Separate investigations into individual perpetrators have yielded 223 suspects from 273 reports handled by 12 regional police offices.
Subiyanto emphasized that regional investigations remain active, warning that offenders face strict criminal penalties.
Individuals convicted of violating forest and land fire regulations face prison sentences ranging from 10 to 12 years.
Subiyanto also urged the public to abandon the practice of land clearing through burning, emphasizing that it remains an illegal and destructive method.
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Translator: Walda Marison, Resinta Sulistiyandari
Editor: Arie Novarina
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