Palm oil firm accused of hiring men to kidnap smog inspectors in Indonesia | Environment | The Guardian
▻https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/sep/06/palm-oil-firm-accused-of-hiring-men-to-kidnap-smog-inspectors-in-indone
Up to 100 Indonesian men, believed to have been hired by a palm oil firm, took a team of official environmental investigators hostage on Friday and threatened to burn them alive, Indonesia’s environment ministry has said.
The government team of seven were documenting illegal forest fires, which are often set ablaze deliberately by agriculture firms to clear land for replanting during the dry season.
The ministry of environment and forestry said its team was held overnight until Saturday morning when negotiations with police and local officials led to their release. During their detention, the investigators were told they would be killed and dumped in a river, the ministry added.
It said there were “strong indications” that their captors were mobilised by Andika Permata Sawit Lestari (APSL), a palm oil firm operating in Riau province, along the Strait of Malacca.
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