TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Palm oil executive found guilty of starting land, forest fires
Change Size
Air pollution -- Thick smoke from forest fires in Riau forced the Bengkalis Education Agency to close schools on Monday. (Courtesy of the Riau Land and Forest Fire Post’s air task force/-)
T
he Pekanbaru High Court in Riau has declared an executive of palm oil company PT Jatim Jaya Perkasa (JJP) guilty of burning 1,000 hectares of peatland in Rokan Hilir regency, Riau.
JJP plantation head Kosman Vitoni Immanuel Siboro was sentenced to four years in prison and ordered to pay Rp 3 billion (US$ 196,914) in fines.
However, the company has challenged the court’s verdict by suing expert witnesses who were instrumental in providing scientific evidence throughout the trial.
Among them is Bogor Institute of Agriculture (IPB) lecturer Bambang Hero Saharjo, who said the company’s lawsuit was “not based on [prevailing] law”.
“The court has to reject the lawsuit. Otherwise, expert witnesses would be less inclined to assist the government in the court,” Bambang was quoted by kontan.co.id as saying on Monday.
Meanwhile, the Environment and Forestry Ministry’s law enforcement director general, Rasio Ridho Sani, said on Monday that the ministry was committed to defending Bambang against the lawsuit.
Previously, the Rokan Hilir District Court imposed a Rp 1 billion fine on JJP, which was represented by company director Halim Gozali.
The Supreme Court’s cassation ruling also ordered JJP to pay an additional Rp 491.03 billion fine for environmental rehabilitation.
The Environment and Forestry Ministry has imposed administrative sanctions on 518 companies involved in environmental crimes.
(rfa)
