KUALA LUMPUR: A total of 4,413 cases of open burning have been detected since January until July 31 this year, Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri G Palanivel said yesterday.
He said most of the cases involved fires in agriculture area, totalling 1,436 cases, followed by undergrowth (1,013 cases), forest area (898 cases), construction site (137 cases), garbage dumping ground (77 cases) and industrial area (34 cases).
Compound action was taken in 315 of the cases, and 101 cases were issued warning notices, he said in a statement yesterday.
He said the Department of Environment (DOE) had opened investigation papers on 45 of the cases, of which 14 cases had been submitted to the deputy public prosecutor and five cases having been filed at the Sessions Court.
Palanivel also said that the satellite image by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) detected 132 hotspots in Sumatra and 87 in Kalimantan, Indonesia, yesterday.
Eight hotspots were also detected in the country, comprising seven in Sarawak and one in Perak.
On the forest fire in Gunung Jambusan, Bau, Sarawak, he said, the fire had yet to be completely doused. — Bernama