Quarry hit by blasts under probe for breach of rules

The Straits Times, March 30, 2007
by AZHAR GHANI

THE Singapore-owned granite quarry hit by four explosions last week is now being investigated by the Indonesian police for possible breach of rules.

This move came as a separate ongoing probe into the blasts continues.

Yesterday's Batam Pos reported that police are checking whether PT Karimun Granite, which is majority-owned and run by the building materials arm of Singapore's Hong Leong Asia, had breached the conditions of its mining concession.

Among the possible infractions being investigated is whether the company has been operating outside its designated concession area.

Investigation team head Adjunct Senior Superintendent Puja Laksana, of the Riau Islands police, told the newspaper: 'We're examining the company's permit. The firm is suspected of mining in some 24ha of protected forest area.'

He added that the probe into the company's mining activities had begun before last Friday's blasts, and so far nine people had been asked to give statements.

However, Jakarta passed a regulation in 2004 that allowed 13 companies, including PT Karimun Granite, to resume mining in protected areas - ending protracted disputes between the government and the firms triggered by a 1999 forest protection law.

The Batam Pos also reported Supt Puja as saying the order for the probe had come from the head of the Indonesian national police's investigation branch in Jakarta, Commisioner General Bambang Hendarso.

PT Karimun Granite, which was majority-bought by Hong Leong Asia in 2000, has been exporting granite to Singapore since 1972.

It is South-east Asia's largest hard-rock quarry operation, exporting up to 5 million tonnes of granite annually from 2001 to 2005, and some 5.1 million tonnes last year.

It is also the only one among about 15 other granite quarries with a mining concession from the central government in Jakarta.

The others get their permits from the local administrations - a result of Indonesia's greater regional autonomy. PT Karimun Granite's current concession will last until 2013.

On the probe into last Friday's blasts, Supt Puja said that a team from the national police criminal investigation branch in Jakarta has been in the Riau Islands since Wednesday to help with the investigations, which have not made much progress.