An official of the ministry, Hari Novianto, in a statement in Jakarta on Wednesday, explained that the suspect had been detained at the Jambi Regional Police detention center on September 26, and had secured evidence: an excavator and documents related to the OKH area.
"In accordance with the direction of the Director General of Forestry Law Enforcement, we have ordered investigators to continue investigating other parties involved in the forest land sale and encroachment in the Orang Kayo Hitam Grand Forest Park," he said.
The case began when the OKH Forestry Technical Implementation Unit (UPTD) received a public report that residents had seized an excavator and its operator for digging a canal inside the area in East Tanjung Jabung District.
The Jambi Forestry Service and UPTD OKH responded by sending a team to investigate and evacuate the excavator. Later, they coordinated with the Sumatra Forestry Law Enforcement Agency for a joint probe into the encroachment and canal construction.
Based on the crime scene investigation, witness statements, and documents related to the encroachment, investigators escalated the case to an investigation and named a suspect.
The suspect was allegedly trading 106 hectares of forest land and coordinating the encroachment and canal construction in the OKH Forestry Area, and faces a maximum sentence of 10 years imprisonment and a maximum fine of Rp7.5 billion.
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Translator: Prisca Triferna Violleta, Cindy Frishanti Octavia
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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