TEMPO.CO, Pekanbaru - Riau Police spokesman Adj. Sr. Comr. Guntur Aryo Tejo said the police will immediately investigate the fires on enterprises' land concession. "We are going into that direction already," he told Tempo yesterday.
The investigation to find the cause of the fires requires a fairly long process, said Guntur. The police cannot act on their own since the bushfire case requires cooperation with the civil servant investigators (PPNS) of the environment ministry and expert witnesses.
Currently, the police have determined 28 people as suspects. There are 21 cases already under investigation. Seven more cases are still being investigated including one enterprise - PT Nasional Sagu Prima (PT NSP) on Meranti Island. "One company is already under investigation; the police have also sent expert witnesses," Guntur said.
Commander of smoke disaster management taskforce Brigade Gen. Agus Irianto said, the fire brigade team has found 12 hotspots on tracks of land that belong to enterprises in a number of Riau areas. From air monitoring, there are burning fires and several hotspots seen that are already extinguished yet still emitting smoke. Land ownership was discovered after the mapping by the Riau Forestry Agency.
RIYAN NOFITRA