LPG Opposing In Central Bangka Revealed, Two Residents Arrested By Police

The Babel Islands Regional Police during a raid on a subsidized LPG mixing site in Terak Village, Central Bangka (ANTARA)

PANGKALPINANG - Regional Police (Polda) Bangka Belitung Islands secured Cak Din (53) and Doni (47) residents of Terak Village, Central Bangka Regency, for mixing subsidized LPG into non-subsidized areas that harm the community and government.

"Currently, two suspects and evidence of hundreds of gas cylinders have been secured for further investigation," said Head of Public Relations of the Babel Police, Kombes Pol. Fauzan Sukmawansyah, quoted by Antara, Wednesday, November 12.

He said the case of subsidized LPG mixing to non-subsidized LPG was revealed after the team conducted an investigation and found a pikup car that carried dozens of empty subsidized LPG gas cylinders and non-subsidized gas cylinders that were about to be sold to the public.

Following up on these findings, officers then traced the presence of a warehouse in Terak Village, Central Bangka Regency which was suspected of being the location for the injection or transfer of the contents of the subsidized LPG gas cylinder to non-subsidized ones.

"From the results of the inspection at the location, the team found hundreds of non-subsidized gas cylinders and subsidies, as well as various tools used to inject the contents of the tube," he said.

He stated that the perpetrators were charged with Article 55 of Law Number 22 of 2001 concerning Oil and Gas, as amended in Article 40 of Law Number 6 of 2023 concerning Stipulation of Government Regulations in Lieu of Law Number 2 of 2022 concerning Job Creation into Law in conjunction with Article 55 paragraph (1) of the 1st Criminal Code, with a maximum penalty of six years in prison.

"The disclosure of the case is a form of the commitment of the Babel Police Chief Inspector General Pol. Viktor Sihombing to take firm action against perpetrators of misuse of subsidized LPGs that harm the community," he said.