Indonesia takes legal action against firms over forest fire

The Indonesian government has taken legal action against companies allegedly involved in causing forest fire in the country that triggered haze enveloping Singapore and Malaysia, police said here on Tuesday.

The action comes as Indonesia scrambles to fight the forest fire which often occurs during the land clearing process for the opening of new plantations on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo.

Indonesian police has declared three big companies suspect in forest fire cases in South Sumatra province, said Brig. General Yazid Fanani, director at the criminal investigation department of the national police.

The police officer disclosed the three plantation firms have initials of PT BMH, PT TPR and PT Wai.

The firms were accused of burning forests, but the police would further their investigations "based on the finding at the field and other analysis," said Fanani at the police headquarters.

In an effort to stop the repeat of fires in the future, the police would deploy more investigators to the scene to boost law enforcement, Brig. General Agus Rianto, spokesman of the national police said.

The Indonesian government has sought to punish perpetrators of forest fires, particularly companies which have caused choking haze in the region, disturbed flights and incurred economic losses.

On Monday, another police spokesman named Suharsono said that 107 people have been declared suspects in cases of land clearing and forest fires.

Indonesia has been battered by such forest fires since the 1990s, as the ensuing haze shrouded neighboring ASEAN countries and caused losses of billions of U.S. dollars. Endi