Indon farmer threaten to sexually assault ST reporters
DUMAI (Riau) - Setting off from Pekanbaru, the capital of Riau province in Sumatra, it took our small group about eight hours to reach a hot spot in Pelintung village, near Dumai.
There, we saw a charred plantation. As we walked across it, we could still feel the heat and the smell of the smoke was strong.
When we got to one end of the scorched land, we saw three police officers and a plantation owner, who was giving instructions to his workers on the areas to put out the fire.
On being told the three of us work for a Singapore newspaper, the owner immediately denied having set fire to the plantation before we had a chance to ask a question.
He then tried to kick us out, saying that we were on privately-owned land and that we had no permission to be there.
At one point, he even threatened to get his workers to sexually harass me if I refuse to go.
Still, we managed to take a video and some photos before we left.
By the time we reached the hotel in Dumai, it was close to 8pm.
With the haze here nearly 1.5 times as bad as that in Singapore, we expected the shops to be shuttered and few people in the streets.
But Dumai is no ghost town, not even when the air quality worsens at night.
Life goes on for the local people and it's business as usual, we were told by the service staff at our hotel, which sees full occupancy every day.
After putting down our bags, we hit the streets to conduct our street interviews. Visibility is low and the air smells of smoke.
After just 15 minutes without a mask, I felt breathless and had chest pains.
My Indonesian colleague Wahyudi was coughing non-stop as we talked to the locals, all not wearing a mask.
They told us that they, too, are feeling the effects of the haze, and are waiting for the government to issue them masks, just like in previous years.