Tenggarong, East Kalimantan (ANTARA News) - Two people have been named suspects for killing an orangutan in Jukaya village in the sub-district of Telen, Kutai Timur, East Kalimantan.

"They have also been detained since December 1, 2011. The two are employees of palm oil company PT SRS in Kutai Timur," East Kalimantan police spokesman Senior Commissioner Anthonius Wisnu Sutarta said to newsmen here on Wednesday.

The two known by their initials as LI (32) and TA (21) were named suspects based upon evidence namely pieces of wood and a rope they used to kill the animal.

"The case is unveiled following information from environment researchers," Sutarta said.

He said according to the suspects they killed the animal on July 23, 2011 in the area of PT SRS.

"They said the killing occurred when two animals, a mother and a son, were eating palm oil fruits. One of them namely the orangutan child was saved and is now being treated at the East Kalimantan natural resource conservation agency (BKSDA) center," he said.

He said the police had not found any indication of the involvement of the company in the case.

"The police have not found correlations between the killing of the animal and the company`s policy. But we are still continuing the investigation," he said.

He said the case was separated from the case of orangutan killings in Puan Cepak, Muara Kaman, Kutai Kartanegara.
(Uu.H-YH/F001)

Editor: Priyambodo RH
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