InfoSAWIT, PEKANBARU – The Riau Police’s Special Criminal Investigation Directorate (Ditreskrimsus) has named PT MM as a corporate suspect in an alleged environmental crime case linked to oil palm cultivation activities within the buffer zone of the Air Hitam River, a tributary of the Nilo River, in Ukui District, Pelalawan Regency.
Director of Special Criminal Investigation at Riau Police, Ade Kuncoro, said the case demonstrates the authorities’ growing commitment to pursuing environmental crimes, including those involving large corporations.
Investigators found that oil palm plantation activities had been carried out within the Air Hitam River buffer zone and forest areas located in Estate IV Division F of PT MM, Air Hitam Village, Ukui District, Pelalawan Regency.
“Investigators discovered that the area had been cleared and planted with oil palm trees between 1997 and 1998,” Ade stated during a press conference at Riau Police Headquarters on Monday.
The oil palm trees reportedly entered production in 2002 and had generated economic benefits for the company for approximately 22 years.
“The company is suspected of profiting from oil palm cultivation activities conducted within the river buffer zone. This was not a temporary activity, but one that continued over a long period,” he said, as quoted by InfoSAWIT from Detik on Tuesday (19/5/2026).
During the investigation, the police concluded that the company’s plantation activities contradicted its own Environmental Impact Assessment (AMDAL) documents and several environmental regulations, including Presidential Decree No. 32 of 1990 concerning Protected Area Management and Government Regulation No. 35 of 1991 concerning Rivers.
Authorities also referred to Public Works and Housing Ministry Regulation No. 28/PRT/M/2015, which stipulates that river buffer zones may only be utilized under limited conditions and require official permits.
“Based on the investigation, PT MM allegedly did not possess a river buffer zone utilization permit from the Sumatra III River Basin Agency,” Ade revealed.
PT MM has been charged under Articles 98 paragraph (1), 99 paragraph (1), and 116 of Law No. 32 of 2009 on Environmental Protection and Management, which regulate corporate criminal liability. The charges carry penalties of up to 10 years in prison and fines reaching Rp10 billion.
Ade emphasized that environmental law enforcement is no longer focused solely on individuals in the field, but also on corporations that economically benefit from activities violating environmental regulations.
“Environmental law enforcement must not stop at individual perpetrators. Corporations can also be held criminally liable if their business activities are proven to cause environmental damage and generate economic gains for the company,” he stressed.
He added that the case serves as a warning that Riau Police will not hesitate to apply corporate criminal sanctions in environmental cases, particularly those affecting conservation areas, river basins, and ecological buffer zones critical to local communities.
According to Ade, river buffer zones play an essential ecological role in protecting water bodies, controlling erosion, and maintaining environmental balance.
Therefore, oil palm cultivation activities within such protected areas are considered potentially harmful to the environment and disruptive to the river’s ecological functions.
“This law enforcement action is not merely about administrative permits, but about protecting ecosystems and safeguarding environmental sustainability in the long term,” he concluded. (T2)
