MAKI Ready To Sue Pretrial If The Case Of B3 Waste Smuggling To Batam Is Stopped By The Riau Islands Prosecutor's Office

MAKI Coordinator Boyamin Saiman in Tanjungpinang, Riau Islands. (ANTARA/Ogen)

JAKARTA - The Indonesian Anti-Corruption Society (MAKI) has asked the Riau Islands (Kejati) Prosecutor's Office to immediately complete the handling of cases of suspected smuggling of toxic and hazardous waste (B3) from abroad to Batam City.

MAKI Coordinator Boyamin Saiman said the alleged B3 waste smuggling case had been reported to the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (KLHK) about four months ago and had been raised to the investigation level.

"KLHK has named two suspects in this case, namely individuals and companies or corporations suspected of smuggling B3 waste into Batam," said Boyamin after visiting the Riau Islands Prosecutor's Office in Tanjungpinang City, Riau Islands, Friday, May 5, which was confiscated by Antara.

According to Boyamin, KLHK investigators have transferred the case of alleged B3 waste smuggling to the Riau Islands Prosecutor's Office in Tanjungpinang.

In fact, there is already a P19 process (the transfer of case files to be completed) accompanied by additional instructions from the Riau Islands Prosecutor's Office which must be completed by the Ministry of Environment and Forestry.

"KLHK investigators are still trying to complete the additional instructions submitted by the Riau Islands Prosecutor's Office," said Boyamin.

Boyamin asked for the firmness of the Riau Islands Prosecutor's Office to speed up the filing of the case to P21 (notification that the investigation was complete) if the elements and evidence had been fulfilled. Then they were immediately brought to court for trial.

On the other hand, Boyamin continued, if it does not fulfill the elements and evidence, the Riau Islands Prosecutor's Office can state in its instructions (P-19) to stop investigations into the alleged smuggling of B3 waste.

"The Riau Islands Prosecutor's Office must be firm, this case is continued or stopped. If it continues to be P-19, I as the reporter will back up the pretrial lawsuit to the Tanjungpinang District Court," he said.

Furthermore, Boyamin added that this case of alleged B3 waste smuggling is not an illegal matter or does not have a permit, but there is indeed a prohibition on entering B3 waste from abroad into Indonesia.

Moreover, the volume of B3 waste suspected of being smuggled using the tanker is very large, reaching 5,500 tons.

He did not want Indonesia to become a place to dump dirt or waste from other countries.

In fact, if this case is successfully processed criminally, MAKI will continue a civil lawsuit, both to companies in Batam and to suppliers of B3 waste from abroad so that it becomes an international lawsuit.

"We hope that this case is processed criminally so that it does not happen again in the future," he said.

Meanwhile, the Head of the Riau Islands Prosecutor's Office, Rudi Margono, ensured that his institution was committed to resolving the alleged criminal case of smuggling B3 waste from abroad into the Batam area.

According to him, so far the handling of the case has run smoothly without any problems between the public prosecutor of the Riau Islands Prosecutor's Office and KLHK investigators.

However, the Riau Islands Prosecutor's Office must first ensure whether the evidence in the case has been fulfilled or not.

"If it has not been fulfilled, we will coordinate with the investigators of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry so that the evidence for criminal acts is strong in the trial later," he explained.

Rudi said the position of the case file for the alleged B3 waste smuggling was still in the KLHK investigators and hoped that the file could be completed as soon as possible according to the research prosecutor's instructions.

"The public can also monitor this case until the trial," he said.

Rudi also advised KLHK investigators to separate the case files between individual suspects and companies or corporations. This is to facilitate the proof and filing or indictment so that they are more focused when brought to court.