Police Arrest Oil Palm Farmers Burning 46 Hectares Of Land In Indragiri Hulu

Indragiri Hulu Police (Inhu) officers showed evidence and suspects of burning 46 ha of land during a press conference to reveal the forest and land fires case. (ANTARA/Asri)

RIAU - Investigators from the Indragiri Hulu Resort Police, Riau Province, arrested an oil palm farmer from Pelalawan Regency who was suspected of burning land in the Batang Gansal area with an area of 46 hectares (Ha). Most of the forests burned are buffer forests. Indragiri Hulu Police Chief AKBP Dody Wirawijaya said the perpetrator on behalf of Sutanto (32) initially bought 10 hectares of land in Batang Gansal and would be used as an oil palm plantation after the land was cleared. The perpetrator burned the land so that a fire broke out not only above his property but also into the buffer forest, which is estimated to cover an area of 36 ha. Seeing that the flames were getting bigger, the perpetrators were unable to control it and were afraid to flee to his hometown. "Of the area of 46 hectares, 36 hectares are buffer forest areas and the incident occurred on October 5, 2023 at 11.00 WIB in Siambul Village, Batang Gansal," said Dody at a press conference for Indragiri Hulu, Riau, Antara, Friday, October 13. As a result of the perpetrator's actions, there were many hotspots and smog that caused unrest in the Batang Gansal community. Finally, the Indragiri Hulu Police (Inhu) conducted an investigation at the location where heavy smoke occurred and as a result, found the land burned and the team immediately looked for the culprit. The perpetrator was arrested in Pelelangan on October 10, 2023 along with a number of evidences such as oil palm trees, water pumps, and saws. "The results of the examination, the suspect admitted that the forest and land fires (karhutla) were the result of his actions," he said. For this incident, the perpetrator was charged with Article 108 in conjunction with Article 69 paragraph 1 of Law 32 of 2009 concerning Environmental Protection and Management. Perpu 2 of 2022 is the Amendment Law to Law number 18 of 2013, the perpetrators are threatened with 10 years in prison with a fine of at least Rp. 3 billion and a maximum of Rp. 10 billion. Deputy Chief of Police, Inhu Kompol Teddy Ardian, added that forest and land fires occurred because they were intentional by clearing land for oil palm plantations by burning land. This incident is a common concern.

"Inhu Police will continue to work hard to uncover other forest and land fires cases," he promised.