Jakarta (Antara) – Colonel Arh Sonny Septiono, Commander of the joint task force on the South Sumatra smog disaster, reportedly ordered his men to 'shoot on the sight' upon encountering wildfire arsonists. He asserted that this option can be used as a last resort against uncivilized suspects.

"I ordered those on patrol to act decisively, and to shoot-on-sight if necessary against arsonists who are caught red-handed intentionally causing forest fires," said Sonny on Tuesday, August 13.

Sonny underlined the importance of implementing decisive strategies in persuasion and law enforcement to control the never-ending forest fires.

His order was met with agreement from Indonesian National Police's General Commissioner Condro Kirono.

The joint task force on the South Sumatra smog disaster consists of members from the National Police and Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI). This team is in direct coordination with the regional disaster mitigation agency (BPBD), and the national disaster mitigation agency (BNPB).

Police's latest data reveals 8 remaining hotspots across South Sumatra while Jambi still has 10. Meanwhile, the area with the most number of wildfire goes to Riau with 92 spots.

Source: https://en.tempo.co/read/1235672/authorities-order-officers-to-shoot-on-sight-wildfire-arsonists