Bengkalis Police Name Suspect in 20-Hectare Forest Encroachment Case

The Criminal Investigation Unit of the Bengkalis Resort Police, Riau Province, has named a man with the initials AS as a suspect in the alleged criminal act of encroaching upon 20 hectares of Permanent Production Forest (HP) within the PT Sekato Pratama Makmur (SPM) area.

The Head of the Bengkalis Police Criminal Investigation Unit, AKP Yohn Mabel, stated that the suspect was named after investigators conducted a series of investigative processes, including witness examinations, seizure of evidence, and consultations with experts from the Forest Area Stabilisation Agency (BPKH).

‘After conducting professional investigations and inquiries, investigators obtained sufficient evidence to name a suspect, AS, in this case of alleged forestry crimes and forest destruction,’ AKP Yohn Mabel said in a statement received in Pekanbaru on Friday.

He explained that the case originated from a report by PT SPM, which discovered land clearing activities within the permanent production forest area located in Air Raja Hamlet, Tanjung Leban Village, Bandar Laksamana District. At the site, officers also discovered that parts of the area had been prepared for oil palm planting. Investigators subsequently seized several pieces of evidence, including one excavator, oil palm seedlings, one oxygen gas cylinder, a welding equipment set, and bank statements relevant to the investigation.

The suspect is alleged to have violated the provisions of Law Number 41 of 1999 concerning Forestry, as amended by Law Number 6 of 2023, as well as Law Number 18 of 2013 concerning the Prevention and Eradication of Forest Destruction, also amended by Law Number 6 of 2023.

‘Currently, the Bengkalis Police Criminal Investigation Unit is completing the case files for subsequent submission to the Public Prosecutor,’ he added. The Bengkalis Police reaffirmed their commitment to taking action against all forms of forest encroachment and environmental crimes to ensure forest conservation and law enforcement within the Bengkalis Regency.