Discarded Cigarette Butt Caused Malang’s Supit Urang Landfill Fire; 71-Year-Old Named Suspect

Malang, VIVA – Malang City Police have named a 71-year-old man, identified by the initial K, from Jedong village in Malang Regency, East Java, as a suspect in the fire at Supit Urang Final Processing Site (TPA) in Sukun district, Malang city.

Malang City Police Criminal Investigation Unit chief Commissioner Septiawan Adi Prihartono said K was named as a suspect after investigators questioned 15 witnesses and upgraded the case from an inquiry to a formal investigation.

“We have questioned 15 witnesses. The case has also been upgraded to an investigation, followed by a case review, which resulted in one person being named as a suspect,” he said.

The witnesses included Malang City Environmental Agency (DLH) personnel and local residents, one of whom was K.

Police have seized several items as evidence, including a motorbike, a cigarette butt, a lighter and clothing.

The suspect designation was based on evidence of negligence by K that led to the fire.

Police said the fire at Supit Urang landfill on Wednesday (21 October 2026) was allegedly started when K threw a cigarette butt into dry bamboo in a garden.

The garden is across a river and not far from the landfill. The discarded cigarette butt caused the bamboo to catch fire.

Wind and dry vegetation allowed the flames to reach and ignite piles of rubbish at Supit Urang landfill, accelerating the fire’s spread.

Investigators will nevertheless conduct further inquiries to establish how the fire spread to the landfill’s waste-disposal area.

“He was working to clear someone else’s land. He knew the bamboo clump was burning, but did not put it out and instead went home,” Septiawan said.

K is charged under Articles 308(1) and 311 of the National Criminal Code, which carry a maximum prison sentence of nine years.