NEA issues legal notices under haze law to 10 Singapore-based companies, including Asia Pulp & Paper

Singapore’s National Environment Agency expanded its haze investigation by issuing legal notices to 10 companies based in Singapore. The action uses the Transboundary Haze Pollution Act. It matters because the agency is examining whether Singapore-linked businesses have connections to fires causing dangerous haze in Indonesia.

The NEA wants documents about the companies’ links with associated businesses in Singapore and Indonesia. It also seeks the locations of their Indonesian land concessions. Further requests cover fire-prevention measures and firefighting efforts by the companies or their associated firms in Indonesia.

The notices are legally enforceable. Under Section 10, representatives of companies that do not respond can face a fine of up to $5,000, a jail term of up to one month, or both. The NEA said the action is an important step toward establishing facts and gathering evidence.

Singapore’s Transboundary Haze Pollution Act is a law aimed at those responsible for causing or condoning fires outside Singapore when they create serious haze there. The Act can be activated when Singapore’s Pollutant Standards Index remains in the unhealthy range somewhere on the island for at least 24 hours.

Under the law, a Section 10 legal notice requires a company to provide documents and information requested by the NEA. In this case, the agency sought details about Indonesian concessions, associated companies, and fire prevention or firefighting work. The notices therefore help investigators trace responsibility across borders.

The article distinguishes these notices from earlier Section 9 preventive-measures notices. Section 9 requests had no penalties for non-response. Section 10 notices can lead to a representative receiving a fine of up to $5,000, up to one month in jail, or both.

The 10 companies are Asia Pulp & Paper Company, Asia Pulp & Paper Company (China), Bumitama Agri, Golden Agri International, First Resources, Indofood Agri Resources, Kencana Agri, TSH Global Plantation, TSH Oversea, and Wilmar International. Five are listed on the Singapore Exchange.

These businesses operate in oil palm or forestry. The article says they either own land concessions in Indonesia or have related companies with such concessions. The NEA is examining their corporate links, concession locations, and actions to prevent or fight fires. That structure may connect Singapore-based companies with events on Indonesian land.

Asia Pulp & Paper has the clearest identified link to Indonesian firms previously notified. Four of those firms were described as APP suppliers: Bumi Andalas Permai, Bumi Mekar Hijau, SBA Wood Industries, and Buana Megatama Jaya. APP was also linked to fires during the 2015 haze crisis.

Singapore’s probe has reached 20 companies through two rounds of notices. On Oct 23, the NEA acted against 10 Singapore-based firms. Earlier, it issued preventive-measures notices to 10 Indonesian companies, including pulpwood and oil-palm plantation businesses. The agency is examining company links, concession locations, and fire responses.

The immediate penalty concerns failure to answer a Section 10 request. A representative of a non-compliant company can face a fine of up to $5,000, up to one month in jail, or both. The earlier Section 9 preventive-measures notices carried no penalty for non-response.

A separate, larger penalty applies to those found guilty under the Act. They can be fined up to $100,000 for each day of the offence, with the total capped at $2 million. The Act can be activated when unhealthy air persists for 24 hours or more in Singapore.

The immediate consequence of withholding information is a penalty under Section 10 of Singapore’s haze law. Representatives of non-compliant firms can face a fine of up to $5,000, imprisonment for up to one month, or both. This makes the latest requests different from the earlier preventive-measures notices sent to Indonesian firms.

The requested evidence concerns concession ownership, corporate relationships, and fire prevention or firefighting. The NEA said the purpose is to establish facts, gather evidence, and follow links between companies in Singapore and Indonesia. It also said it will look beyond individual concession holders to larger corporate groups and people who may control them.

If a company is found guilty under the Act, the financial consequences are much larger. The maximum fine is $100,000 per day, with the total capped at $2 million. The article does not state that any company has yet been found guilty.

The article says slash-and-burn methods are used to clear Indonesian forests and plantations because they are cheaper than removing trees with excavators. The practice is illegal in Indonesia, but it continues. Fires are currently burning in forests and plantations, mainly in Kalimantan and Sumatra.

The basic mechanism is straightforward. Land is cleared by burning vegetation, and the resulting fires can spread or continue across forests and plantations. Smoke from those fires creates haze. The article links the current haze in Singapore to fires in Indonesia, although it does not provide a detailed account of how the smoke travels.

Singapore’s law becomes relevant when haze causes the Pollutant Standards Index to remain in the unhealthy range in any part of Singapore for at least 24 hours. That threshold allows the THPA to be activated against those responsible for causing or condoning the fires.

Environmental responsibility can cross borders when one company operates through related businesses, suppliers, or subsidiaries in another country. A Singapore-based firm may have Indonesian affiliates, own or be linked to land concessions, or source products from plantation companies. The fire occurs in Indonesia, while corporate connections may lead back to Singapore.

The article gives APP as an example. Four Indonesian firms previously sent notices were identified as APP suppliers: Bumi Andalas Permai, Bumi Mekar Hijau, SBA Wood Industries, and Buana Megatama Jaya. Other Indonesian firms also had Singapore links through owners or directors who were Singapore permanent residents.

The NEA said it will examine links between companies in Singapore and Indonesia and look beyond individual concession holders. It will also investigate larger corporate groups and people who may ultimately control them. This approach is intended to follow evidence rather than stop at the company operating the concession.