ASIATODAY.ID, PALU – The Central Sulawesi Regional Police have named two leaders of PT Indonesia Tsingshan Stainless Steel (ITSS) as suspects for the Chinese company’s nickel smelter explosion incident in December 2023 which resulted in 20 workers dying.
The ITSS smelter operates in Indonesia Morowali Industrial Park (IMIP), Morowali Regency.
“The two officials are Chinese citizens with the initials ZG and Z,” said Head of Public Relations for the Central Sulawesi Regional Police, Police Commissioner, Djoko Wienartono, Monday, February 12 2024.
He stated that the suspect ZG had the status of Furnace Supervisor of PT Zhao Hui Nickel who was seconded to PT ITSS, and Z was Deputy Supervisor of PT OSMI.
However, Djoko has not explained in detail the reasons why the two Chinese citizens were named as suspects.
“The two suspects were charged under Articles 188, 359 and 360 of the Criminal Code,” he said.
He explained that in this case the investigative team had examined 27 witnesses who were employees and were deemed responsible for this tragic incident.
“The witnesses being questioned are Indonesian workers and Chinese workers, including a number of victims who have recovered, we have asked for information,” he explained.
From the results of previous investigations, it was suspected that a number of standard operating procedures (SOPs) had been violated on the part of the officers, both in work methods and in decisions by the parties responsible for the work.
In the incident that occurred on December 24 2023, 20 workers were recorded as dead, consisting of 12 workers from Indonesia and 8 workers from China. (ATN)
Check out other news and articles at Google News