3 Excavator Owners Of Riau Forest Encroaching Mangkir Call, DLHK Police Coordination Threatens To Force Pick Up

Illustration of natural destruction or forest expansion. (Pizabay)

RIAU - Three owners of heavy equipment types of excavators are absent from the call of the Riau Province Environment Agency (DLHK). The heavy equipment they have confiscated when they penetrated the forest of Sahilan Darussalam Village in Riau, which covers an area of 2,942 hectares.

"DLHK summoned the owners of the three heavy equipment after the DLHK Riau Forestry Police Unit (Polhut) arrested three operators along with heavy excavators who were in the Tesso Nilo forest area in the Kampar area on Saturday, July 15," said Mamun Murod to reporters in Pekanbaru, Riau, Wednesday, July 26, quoted by Antara.

Mamun explained that based on the information from the operator who was secured, the Riau DLHK Polhut pocketed the name of the owner of the heavy equipment used to penetrate the forest in Sahilan Darussalam Village, Gunung Sahilan District, Kampar Regency, Riau.

Based on the investigation, the names of the owners of each excavator are different.

Mamun said the statements of the owners of the heavy equipment were needed, so in the near future DLHK Riau will call again the three after being absent in the first summons today.

"If they are still uncooperative at the second summons in accordance with Article 216 of the Criminal Code, then the Riau DLHK Office will summon them forcibly to obtain information. For this action, the Riau DLHK will coordinate with the Riau Police Ditreskrimsus PPNS Korwas," he said.

Previously, three excavator operators were arrested by the DLHK Polhut of Riau Province when they were caught red-handed entering a forest area in Sahilan Darussalam Village.

The three operators who were secured had the initials, UJ, SP and SH. It was later revealed that the three perpetrators were not local residents.

The disclosure of this forest addition action began with information from the public who stated that there was land clearing in forest areas in Sahilan Darussalam Village. The 2,942 hectare forest area has the right to be managed by the Minister of Forestry (Menhut) to the Gunung Sahilan State Village Forest Management Institute.

Polhut immediately secured an operator and an excavator unit. Officers returned to search the location and again found two operators along with heavy equipment.

"So the distance between the first and second crime scenes is not far. We found them when clearing land for oil palm plantations," he said.

Three operators and three excavators were detained at the Riau DLHK Satpolhut Office on Jalan Dahlia Pekanbaru. Currently, investigators are still examining the three operators intensively.

The perpetrators will be charged with Article 92 paragraph (1) letter a in conjunction with Article 17 paragraph (2) letter a of Law of the Republic of Indonesia number 18 of 2013 concerning Prevention and Eradication of Forest Destruction as amended in paragraph 4 of Article 37 number 16 of Law of the Republic of Indonesia number 6 of 2023 concerning Stipulation of Government Regulation in Lieu of Law number 2 of 2022 concerning Job Creation.