KLKH Names Suspect In Illegal TPS Case

Director of Criminal Law Enforcement Gakkum KLHK Yazid Nurhuda/Photo: Screenshot of the press conference

JAKARTA - The Directorate General of Law Enforcement at the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (Gakkum KLHK) has conducted criminal proceedings in the case of an illegal landfill (TPS) in Bekasi Regency, West Java, and has so far named and detained one suspect.

Director of Criminal Law Enforcement of Gakkum KLHK, Yazid Nurhuda, explained that the handling began with a complaint from non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to the Directorate General of Law and Human Rights in January 2022.

"The contents of the complaint are that there is an illegal TPS along the 3 kilometers on the banks of the CBL River in Sumberjaya Village, Bekasi Regency, which has been operating for years. These activities have caused flooding and river water pollution", Yazid said in a virtual press conference attended in Jakarta, Friday 25 February.

The location is estimated to have operated as an illegal TPS from 2014 to January 2022 with an area of about 3.6 hectares and an estimated total waste generation of around 508,775.9 cubic meters.

The LHK Supervisory Officer of the Directorate General of Law and Human Rights then verified the location, took samples, and analyzed them in the laboratory.

The Directorate General of Law and Human Rights has secured three pieces of evidence related to the illegal TPS operation, namely witness statements, expert statements, and documentary evidence.

"ES is the person in charge of the coordinator of the activity, which we have designated as a suspect and we are currently keeping him in the Criminal Investigation Unit of the Police", he said.

He explained that for the time being the offense suspected of the suspect was environmental damage while the Ministry of Environment and Forestry was waiting for laboratory results related to environmental pollution. The Directorate General of Law and Human Rights is currently compiling case files and will be submitted to the Indonesian Attorney General's Office.

The article of suspicion that will be imposed on the suspect is Article 98 of Law 32 of 2009 concerning Environmental Protection and Management, namely carrying out activities that result in exceeding the damage quality standard criteria.

The suspect faces a minimum prison sentence of five years and a maximum of five years and a minimum fine of IDR 3 billion.