About 109 People Named Suspect in Forest Fire in Riau

Jakarta (Antara) - About 109 people have been suspected in the forest fires in Riau that lead to thick haze in and around the province, spokesman to Indonesian National Police Senior Commissioner Agus Rianto stated here on Tuesday. Agus noted that out of the 109 suspects, 93 were arrested, and nine were not yet arrested, while another seven were still sought by the police. "We are still investigating this case while also conducting persuasive actions to prevent the forest fire incident from happening again," Agus clarified. Based on the data collected by Special Task Force for Anti-Forest Fire, the widespread fires in Riau have reached 21,768 hectares until now, in which, the ground task force unit watch list stated that there is only one remaining hotspot in Riau. Spokesman to the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) Sutopo Purwo Nugroho pointed out that the quality of air in Riau province is getting healthier. As to the one thousand military personnel being deployed in Riau to help the handling of forest fires, Sutopo explained that they will be retrieved back to their original stations starting Friday (April 4). "But first we will conduct health check ups for the military personnel because they have been exposed to thick haze and poor air quality in Riau province for the past three weeks," Sutopo added. (*) Reporting by Juwita Trisna Rahayu Translating and Editing by Amie Fenia Arimbi