REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- The Indonesian Police have been tackling 262 cases of forest and plantation fires on the islands of Sumatra and Kalimantan so far.
"Up to October 21, 2015, the police have handled 262 cases of forest and plantation fires," Brigadier General Agus Rianto, spokesman of the National Police Headquarters, said here, Thursday.
Of the total cases, 205 are individual cases, and 57 cases involving corporations including seven foreign companies.
The Police's Crime Investigation Department (Bareskrim) handles four cases, the South Sumatra Police 36 cases, the Riau police 71 cases, the Jambi police 22 cases, the Central Kalimantan police 67 cases, the West Kalimantan police 29 cases, the South Kalimantan police 13 cases, and the East Kalimantan police 20 cases.
The police have also named 247 suspects comprising 230 individuals and 17 corporations, in the cases, he said.
Of the total suspects, 88 have been detained including five representing corporations.
Over 50 thousand hectares of forest, peatland and plantation areas are still burning on the two islands.
In the meantime, the Indonesian Military has deployed thousands of soldiers to extinguish forest fires in South Sumatra since last September.
On Thursday, the military replaced 1,059 officers, who have been on duty since last September, with the fresh ones.
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