Ministry of Forestry Names Corporate Suspect in Batam Protected Forest Encroachment

Jakarta, VIVA – The Ministry of Forestry (Kemenhut) has escalated its handling of the alleged encroachment on the Tanjung Piayu Protected Forest in Batam City, Riau Islands.

This time, investigators named PT GTP a corporate suspect after it was allegedly opening up the protected forest area without a permit using heavy machinery.

The suspect designation was made by investigators from the Forestry Law Enforcement Centre for the Sumatra Region, Directorate General of Forestry Law Enforcement (Ditjen Gakkum Kehutanan), after finding at least two valid pieces of evidence.

In the investigation, PT GTP is suspected of using heavy equipment to build roads and excavate hills in the Tanjung Piayu Protected Forest area. The excavated material was then used as landfill.

Based on crime scene analysis and expert testimony, the activity is believed to have cleared a forest area of approximately 1.98 hectares. Investigators also found a road around 897 metres long and between 7 and 11 metres wide, which caused damage to the protected forest’s function.

The investigation was carried out by Civil Servant Investigators (PPNS) from the Forestry Law Enforcement Centre for the Sumatra Region, Section II Pekanbaru, together with the PPNS Supervisory Coordinator of the Riau Islands Regional Police.

During the process, investigators examined 12 witnesses from various parties and sought testimony from two experts, namely an expert in forest area mapping and confirmation from the Tanjung Pinang Forest Area Consolidation Centre, and an expert in soil and environmental damage from IPB University. Investigators also held a case review with the PPNS Supervisory Coordinator of the Riau Islands Regional Police before naming PT GTP a corporate suspect.

Director General of Forestry Law Enforcement Dwi Januanto Nugroho said that law enforcement must target not only field perpetrators but also corporations suspected of being responsible for damage to forest areas.

“Law enforcement cannot stop at the perpetrators in the field. When a corporation is suspected of controlling, benefiting from, or being responsible for forest encroachment, criminal liability must be directed at that corporation in accordance with applicable law. There is no good forest governance without strong and integrity-driven law enforcement. Likewise, law enforcement will not be effective if it does not serve as an entry point for comprehensive improvements to forest governance,” said Dwi Januanto Nugroho in Jakarta, Tuesday, 28 July 2026.