18 Suspects Detained Over Forest Fires

Pekanbaru (Antara Bali) -  Police have arrested 18 suspects in connection with forest and land fires in the Sumatran province of Riau.

"Four of them were arrested on Thursday while others days before," Riau Police Command spokesman Adjunct Senior Commissioner Hermansyah said to Antara here on Friday.

Police arrested two suspects in Bengkalis, 11 in Rokan Hilir, two in Pelalawan and one in Siak. "The latest two arrests were made in Dumai town," he said.

They were all arrested for allegedly clearing land by burning for plantations. Hermansyah said their cases were still being processed in their respective police regions, adding that the number of suspects could still increases.

"Efforts would continue to be done to arrest those found clearing land by burning that has caused fires and haze blanketing Riau and also Singapore and Malaysia," he said. (*/DWA)