Threat Of 5 Years In Prison And IDR 50 Billion Fine For Cooking Oil Hoarders

Head of Public Information, Police Public Relations Division Brigadier General Ahmad Ramadhan (Photo via Police Public Relations)

JAKARTA - The National Police's Food Task Force has warned business actors who are still desperate to hoard cooking oil. The criminal threat is no joke.

Head of Public Information, Police Public Relations Division, Brigadier General Pol Ahmad Ramadhan, said that business actors who are proven to hoard basic food items can be sentenced to a maximum of 5 years in prison. Then a maximum fine of IDR 50 billion.

"Business actors who hoard can be charged with Article 107 in conjunction with Article 29 paragraph 1 of Law No. 7 of 2014 in conjunction with Article 11 paragraph 2 of Presidential Regulation No. 71 of 2015 concerning the Determination and Storage of Basic Needs and Important Goods," said Ahmad Ramadhan, Sunday 20 February.

Regarding the discovery of cooking oil in a warehouse, Ahmad Ramadhan said the National Police's Food Task Force would immediately distribute the groceries to the market. So, people can buy it at the price set by the government.

"Regarding the finding of 92,676 boxes of cooking oil weighing 1,138,361 kilograms in a warehouse belonging to PT SIP, the National Police's Food Task Force encourages the cooking oil to be immediately distributed to the public through market mechanisms under the supervision of the National Police's Food Task Force," said Ahmad Ramadhan, quoted from the Police Public Relations statement.

The stock of cooking oil in some is still safe. However, Ahmad does not deny that there are several business actors who carry out hoarding.

“The National Police invites all parties to jointly carry out supervision and check directly on the market. The National Police's Food Task Force also encourages related institutions to routinely carry out market operations," he said.

"The National Police's Food Task Force will always support and oversee government policies in maintaining the stability of cooking oil prices and ensuring its availability in the market," he continued.