Indonesia makes first arrests in air pollution probe
Police investigating 133 individuals from more than 20 companies, as haze from forest fires continues to trouble Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore
By Ainur Rohmah
JAKARTA
Police have announced the arrest of suspects from seven companies on the suspicion of a slash and burn agricultural policy that has left not just parts of Indonesia blanketed in smog but also neighboring Malaysia and Singapore.
The haze from the burning of areas of forest for agricultural purposes - an annual problem - has left schools closed, flights grounded, and a declaration of emergency in the central eastern province of Riau.
Police are currently investigating 133 individuals from more than 20 companies, and are seeking to broaden the net to include foreign companies and shareholders.
National Police Chief Gen. Badrodin Haiti told reporters Thursday that "the command of the President [Joko Widodo] has been clear."
"Law enforcement should be firm so that [forest fires] will not happen again next year," he said, according to detik.com
Widodo announced Wednesday that "firm legal action will be taken" against companies responsible.
Badrodin told reporters gathered at Parliament police would make a blacklist of corporate executives responsible, and prevent them from operating businesses in Kalimantan and Sumatra.
He also said foreign ties were being looked as, investigators probing whether any of the companies had foreign shareholders.
Meanwhile, Minister of Environment and Forestry Siti Nurbaya said some of those behind the fires were likely Malaysia and Singapore companies.
She said Malaysian companies in her list had already been associated with fires in Sumatra, but that there are also large companies from Indonesia involved.
Indonesia punishes those causing forest fires with a maximum sentence of up to 10 years in prison and fine of Rp10 billion ($700,000).
Although the smog has also spread to Malaysia and Singapore, the Indonesian government has rejected assistance from Singapore for a second time.
Nurbaya said she also received an offer of assistance from Singapore's Minister of Environment and Water Resources Vivian Balakrishnan.
