Riau Police name 40 suspects in 37 forest and land fire cases

Pekanbaru (ANTARA) - Riau Regional Police and its ranks have named 40 suspects in forest and land fire cases from 37 cases, with the total burned area reaching 904 hectares.

Director of the Special Criminal Investigation Directorate of Riau Police, Senior Commissioner Ade Kuncoro Ridwan, said that from the investigation of these cases, police found a number of methods suspected to be the cause of forest and land fires. Most cases point to alleged deliberate land clearing by burning.

“Every report and fire incident will be handled professionally through an investigation and inquiry process based on facts, evidence, and a scientific criminal investigation approach to objectively reveal the responsible parties,” he said in Pekanbaru on Friday.

From the accumulated cases handled, several areas recorded a fairly high number of cases. Pelalawan Police handled seven cases with eight suspects. The same number was also handled by Indragiri Hilir Police, namely seven cases with seven suspects. Meanwhile, Bengkalis Police also handled seven cases with eight suspects.

Furthermore, Kampar Police handled four cases with three suspects. Rokan Hilir and Indragiri Hilir Police each handled three cases with suspects. Meanwhile, Dumai, Siak and Kepulauan Meranti Police each handled one case with one suspect.

In handling forest and land fire cases, he added, investigators can apply Law Number 32 of 2009 concerning Environmental Protection and Management. If the fire occurs in a forest area, investigators can also use Law Number 41 of 1999 concerning Forestry and Law Number 18 of 2013 concerning Prevention and Eradication of Forest Destruction.

“In addition, the latest provisions in the Criminal Code, particularly Article 308, can also be applied according to the construction of each case,” he said.