TOKYO, Oct 29 (Bernama-Kyodo) — Indonesia’s police said Thursday they are investigating 97 domestic and foreign companies, including a subsidiary of a Japanese firm, over their suspected involvement in ongoing forest fires affecting several islands in the country, Kyodo News reported.
Asep Safrudin, head of the National Police detective unit, said during a live-streamed press conference in West Kalimantan Province that the Japanese firm, which he identified by the initials PT MTI, along with 21 other foreign companies, was among those under investigation.
Police have asked the government to revoke the business licences of 23 of the 97 companies, Asep said, without detailing them, adding that forest and land fires have repeatedly occurred since earlier this year in concession areas of those companies.
The huge fires in the Indonesian part of Borneo, Sumatra, Sulawesi, Maluku and Papua since August have caused a deterioration in air quality and forced schools to shift to online learning.
The haze has also affected the health of people on those islands, with many suffering from respiratory problems.
— BERNAMA-KYODO