Police Catch Man Red-Handed Burning Land in Rokan Hilir, Riau

Personnel from the Tanah Putih Tanjung Melawan Sector Police Station caught a man with the initials ES alias Wak Bandung (45) red-handed while burning land in Labuhan Papan Village Administration, Rokan Hilir Regency (Rohil), Riau Province. The perpetrator was unable to escape when caught by officers on patrol monitoring thick black smoke at the scene. The arrest began when the Tanah Putih Tanjung Melawan Sector Police Chief, Iptu Kodam Firman Sidabutar, and his personnel conducted a patrol in Labuhan Papan Village Administration, Tanah Putih Tanjung Melawan Subdistrict, on Monday (16/3) around 15:50 WIB. At the same time, the Police Chief spotted thick smoke rising high into the air from a distance. The Police Chief and his personnel then headed to the source of the smoke. Upon arriving at the location, Iptu Kodam saw a blazing fire burning wood and scrub remnants from the land staking lines. “From a distance, a man was seen guarding the fire and trying to extinguish the growing flames using wood from the adjacent land boundary, which consisted of dry scrub,” explained Rokan Hilir Police Chief AKBP Isa Imam Syahroni in his statement on Saturday (21/3/2026). The Police Chief and his personnel then approached the individual. While walking towards the perpetrator, personnel from the Tanah Putih Tanjung Melawan Sector Police Station took photos and video documentation. “After that, the perpetrator was interrogated, and he admitted that he alone had burned the land using matches and rubber tyres at four points along two staking lines, with the reason being to clear the land as it had already been planted with oil palm seedlings,” he explained. The perpetrator, along with evidence including matches, a machete, and three burnt wooden sticks, was secured at the Tanah Putih Tanjung Melawan Sector Police Station. The perpetrator admitted to burning the land to subsequently plant oil palm. “The perpetrator admitted to burning the land using matches at four points with the aim of planting oil palm crops; subsequently, the suspect and evidence were handed over to the Criminal Investigation Unit of the Rokan Hilir Police Resort for further examination,” he concluded.