Singapore targets 10 local firms in widening Indonesia haze probe
What's new: NEA can penalize non-response this time, with fines of up to S$5,000, a month in jail, or both.
Singapore widened its transboundary haze crackdown by issuing legal notices to 10 Singapore-based plantation and forestry firms, including Asia Pulp & Paper, Wilmar International and Golden Agri-International. The National Environment Agency is seeking documents on the companies’ links to Indonesian concession holders, concession locations, and what fire prevention and firefighting steps were taken. The move follows earlier preventive notices to 10 Indonesian companies tied to fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan. Under Section 10 of the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act, representatives of firms that do not respond can face fines of up to S$5,000, up to one month in jail, or both. Singapore has endured a prolonged stretch of unhealthy air as forest and plantation fires in Indonesia drove the haze.