{
    "success": true,
    "data": {
        "id": 1748432,
        "msgid": "palm-oil-company-in-riau-damaging-riverbanks-faces-up-to-10-years-imprisonment-1779546322",
        "date": "2026-05-19 11:32:02",
        "title": "Palm Oil Company in Riau Damaging Riverbanks Faces Up to 10 Years' Imprisonment",
        "author": "",
        "source": "DETIK",
        "tags": "",
        "topic": "Regulation",
        "summary": "An oil palm company in Pelalawan, Riau, PT MM, is charged under Indonesia's environmental protection law for clearing riverbank land and failing to conduct an Environmental Impact Assessment (AMDAL). Prosecutors say the actions breached river boundary regulations, with field evidence showing palm trees planted 2 to 5 metres from the riverbank and causing soil erosion and landslides. If convicted, the directors or managers face up to 10 years in prison and fines up to Rp 10 billion.",
        "content": "<p>Director of Reskrimsus Polda Riau, Kombes Ade Kuncoro Wahyu, said\nauthorities have charged PT MM under Article 98(1) in conjunction with\nArticle 99(1) in conjunction with Article 116 of Law No.\u00a032 of 2009 on\nEnvironmental Protection and Management relating to Corporate Criminal\nLiability. \u2018The maximum prison sentence is 10 years and the maximum fine\nis Rp 10 billion,\u2019 he told reporters on Tuesday (19 May 2026). Ade\nexplained that, in terms of corporate criminal liability, it is the\ncompany\u2019s directors or managerial staff who are liable. \u2018A corporation\nas a legal subject represented by its administrators, could be the board\nof directors or managerial staff,\u2019 he added. Ade Wahyu explained that PT\nMM has conducted oil palm plantation activities in Estate IV Division F\nof PT MM, Air Hitam Village, Ukui District, Pelalawan Regency, for\nyears. The land has been cleared since 1997-1998 and in 2022-2024 the\ncompany has earned profits from palm cultivation. But the fault is that\nPT MM did not observe the boundary of the palm planting area along the\nriverbank. In other words, PT MM did not observe the Environmental\nImpact Assessment (AMDAL) in its palm planting. Referring to Minister of\nPublic Works and Public Housing Regulation No.\u00a028 of 2015, Article\n6(1-3) which sets the distance of the riverbank boundary, where small\nrivers are 50 metres away and large rivers 100 metres away. In the\nfield, it was found that PT MM almost cleared the entire riverbank area.\n\u2018In the field, the distance of PT MM\u2019s palm planting was found to be\nonly 2 to 5 metres from the riverbank boundary lines. The palm trees are\nalso not a type of plant permitted to be planted on the river edge,\u2019 he\nsaid. Another fact revealed in the investigation: environmental experts\nstated there had been damage along the river bank planted with PT MM\u2019s\npalm. Among others, there were landslides with depths of 1-2 metres,\ndown to subsidence. \u2018Then soil erosion of 10-15 cm in depth and 50-60 cm\nin width, as well as the loss of native vegetation or 0 percent,\u2019 he\nsaid. Meanwhile, laboratory tests of soil samples confirmed that soil\ndamage parameters resulting from PT MM\u2019s palm planting at the site had\nexceeded threshold limits. \u2018Lab results from soil samples confirm that\nsoil damage parameters (for clay and sand fractions) have exceeded the\nenvironmental damage quality threshold,\u2019 he added. In this case,\ninvestigators also consider that the company\u2019s activities contravene its\nown AMDAL document, Presidential Decree No.\u00a032 of 1990 on Protected Area\nManagement, Government Regulation No.\u00a035 of 1991 on Rivers, and other\nriverbank protection provisions. Additionally, according to Regulation\nNo.\u00a028\/PRT\/M\/2015 of the PUPR Ministry, riverbank areas can only be used\nin a limited manner and must have a permit. \u2018In the course of the\ninvestigation, PT MM was said to not have a permit to utilise riverbank\nland from the Sumatera III River Basin Authority (Balai Wilayah Sungai\nSumatera III),\u2019 he disclosed. He stressed that riverbank areas have an\nimportant ecological function as spaces to protect water bodies, control\nerosion, and act as buffers for environmental balance. Therefore, palm\ncultivation in these areas is believed to potentially cause\nenvironmental damage and disrupt the ecological function of the river.\n\u2018Law enforcement is not merely about administrative permitting, but\nconcerns the protection of ecosystems and long-term environmental\nsafety,\u2019 he concluded. (mea\/dhn)<\/p>",
        "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/palm-oil-company-in-riau-damaging-riverbanks-faces-up-to-10-years-imprisonment-1779546322",
        "image": ""
    },
    "sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
    "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}