Four firms probed over forest fires

Four firms probed over forest fires

PEKANBARU, Riau: State Minister for the Environment Nabiel
Makarim said on Tuesday that government investigators were still
investigating four companies allegedly involved in the burning of
forest areas for land clearance in Riau province.

The four, he revealed, were PT Multi Gambut Industri, PT Musi
Mas, PT Bukit Kapur Reksa and PT Inti Prona.

He expected the cases would be brought to court to serve as a
warning to other forest concessionaires.

He said that in many cases, the courts released wrongdoers due
to the judges poor knowledge of environmental law.

The latest such case was the release of the owner of oil palm
plantation PT Jatim Jaya Perkasa by the Dumai District Court
despite the existence of strong evidence supporting the charges
that the company had intentionally set fires in its concession in
the province.

"The provincial legislative council will ask the judges to
explain their ruling," he told reporters after holding a closed-
door dialog with the provincial authorities in the city.

As of Monday, a satellite image showed 71 hot spots in the
forest fire-prone province. --JP