"Those found guilty of violating regulations deserve to face firm actions," he remarked after a meeting with Chairperson of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin), Anindya Bakrie, in Jakarta on Monday.
His call for action follows the discovery of discrepancies in the actual quantity of oil versus the packaging claims for MinyaKita products from three producers during an inspection at Lenteng Agung Market in South Jakarta on Saturday (March 8).
Sulaiman stressed that the three cooking oil producers should face criminal and civil penalties.
"If possible, charge them with both criminal and civil offenses," he emphasized.
Earlier, at the aforementioned market, the minister found MinyaKita cooking oil packaged as one liter contained only between 750 and 800 milliliters.
These subsidized cooking oil products were suspected to come from three different producers: PT Artha Eka Global Asia in Depok, West Java; Nusantara Cooperative in Kudus, Central Java; and PT Tunas Agro Indolestari in Tangerang, Banten.
The first two companies packaged their oil in one-liter bottles, while the third used two-liter pouches.
In addition to the issue with quantity, the selling price exceeded the highest retail price (HET) set by the government. While the packaging indicated a price of Rp15,700 (US$0.95) per liter, the oil was sold for Rp18,000 per liter.
The following day, the Food Task Force of the National Police (Polri) confirmed that it had launched an investigation into this scandal after the discovery.
"Following the discovery, the Food Task Force of the Polri confiscated the evidence and decided to initiate further investigation," Brigadier Gen. Helfi Assegaf, head of the task force, told the media in Jakarta.
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Translator: Muhammad H, Tegar Nurfitra
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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