Illegal motor oil warehouse sealed off
JAKARTA (JP): City police on Friday sealed off a shop and a warehouse in Duri Kembangan, West Jakarta, after its owner was allegedly involved in illegally selling and producing lubricants and brake oils.
Earlier on Wednesday, police apprehended the owner of the shop and the warehouse, Liu Eddy Sucipto, a 38-year-old resident of Tomang, also in West Jakarta.
"The suspect did not have licenses from the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Ministry of Mines and Energy to run his business," Jakarta Police detective chief Col. Alex Bambang Riatmodjo said on Friday.
From the warehouse, police seized 183 cardboard boxes of Golden Grass Indonesia (GGI) Super 2T grease oil, 380 boxes of Autolub GGI The Best Top Speed 2T motor oil, and 64 boxes of GGI Bestone Super Heavy brake oil. The boxes of each type of oil contain 24 cans.
The police also seized hundreds of barrels of various chemical liquids, a machine to blend the liquids, a pressing machine to pack the oils, a Daihatsu truck and thousands of empty cardboard boxes of different sizes.
The confiscated assets are worth at least Rp 800 million (US$106,670).
Alex said police detectives received complaints on Tuesday from neighborhood residents about the illegal oil sale and production. He quoted locals as saying the waste had polluted soil water in the area.
"I immediately ordered (detectives) to locate the shop and the warehouse and arrest the owner if there was enough evidence."
In preliminary questioning, Liu, a father of two children, denied the allegation that he had run an illegal business.
"I applied to the Ministry of Trade and Industry a few years ago, but the license is yet to be granted," he said.
Liu, who began his business at this time, said the police had treated him unfairly.
"Many people also produced grease and brake oils and sold them in their shops. But they have never been arrested." He suggested that his informers were most likely his business competitors.
"Why me? I have to feed my family and my employees."
Liu, a graduate from a junior high school in the South Sumatra town of Pangkal Pinang, said he bought raw materials from Agus, an employee of Garmak Motor. Agus is wanted for questioning by police.
Although he employed 26 people in the shop and warehouse, Liu was described as a stranger in the neighborhood.
"We never knew who he was, as he has never mingled with us," a local resident who watched Friday's sealing said.
Alex said police would charge Liu for violating Law No 5/1984 on Industry, which carries a maximum penalty of a five-year imprisonment term or a fine of up to Rp 25 million. (emf)