Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Indonesian National Police (Polri) have identified 97 companies suspected of violations linked to forest and land fires still raging across Sumatra and Kalimantan, Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs Dudung Abdurachman said.
"These corporations are subject to further legal proceedings," he told reporters at his office in Jakarta on Monday.
Dudung said the findings were based on investigation reports compiled by Polri headquarters and regional police offices. He added that investigators had also identified individuals suspected of involvement in the fires.
The minister urged Polri to continue its investigations to uncover the masterminds behind the widespread forest and land fires.
Earlier, Polri's Criminal Investigation Agency (Bareskrim) revealed that nine individuals had been named suspects in corporate-linked wildfire cases as of Oct. 13.
Speaking in Jakarta on Oct. 14, Senior Commissioner Pipit Subiyanto, head of Subdirectorate III at Bareskrim's Directorate for Certain Crimes, said seven of the suspects were in West Kalimantan, while the remaining two were in Central Kalimantan and South Kalimantan.
The officer added that investigators had received 98 reports involving corporate fire cases handled by Bareskrim and 10 regional police offices.
West Kalimantan Police recorded the highest number of reports, at 33, followed by South Sumatra with 17, Central Kalimantan with 14, South Kalimantan with 11, and East Kalimantan with seven.
Additional reports were recorded in Riau (six), Lampung and North Kalimantan (three each), Jambi (two), and the Bangka Belitung Islands (one). Bareskrim handled one separate case.
Separate investigations into individual perpetrators have resulted in 223 suspects being named in 273 case reports handled by 12 regional police offices.
Subiyanto said investigations at the regional level remained ongoing and warned that offenders would face stringent criminal penalties.
Individuals convicted of violating laws governing wildfires face prison sentences of between 10 and 12 years.
Subiyanto also urged the public to stop clearing land by burning, stressing that the practice remains illegal and detrimental to the environment.
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Translator: W. Marison, Tegar Nurfitra
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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