TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The South Jakarta District Court on Thursday, August 11, 2016 ruled in favor of the Environment and Forestry Ministry in a forest fire case involving PT National Sago Prima (NSP) in Riau. However, Environment and Forest Minister Siti Nurbaya said that the verdict was not final yet.
"We will wait for the final [decision]. There could be an appeal," Siti said at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta on Friday, August 12, 2016, adding that the legal process had been ongoing since 2014.
The court has ruled that PT NSP was guilty and sentenced the company to pay a compensation amounting to Rp 1.040 trillion (US$80 million).
Siti revealed that the government had won several other cases related to forest fire, while others were still being processed. Siti explained that companies that were found guilty for burning forests were imposed with administrative sanctions and permit revocation.
"We are preparing six or seven cases [to be processed]," Siti said.
Earlier, President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo called for law enforcement against forest burners. During a limited meeting on the prevention and mitigation of forest and land fires, President Jokowi issued an instruction to ensure legal certainty and justice for public.
ADITYA BUDIMAN
