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The City Council is considering summoning PT Pertamina to question company executives over a spate of gas canister explosions that have left six people dead and more than 30 injured in Greater Jakarta since January, a city councilor said on Friday.

“Pertamina should be summoned. I am going to urge members from my party and City Council Commission D [for natural resources] members to summon and question Pertamina, particularly after what police found,” said Muhammad Sanusi, a councilor from the Great Indonesian Movement Party (Gerindra).

According to the Jakarta Police, the explosions have been caused by faulty gas canisters distributed by the state-owned energy company across Greater Jakarta as well as the rest of the nation. Police say the canisters have no national standards certification or permits from Pertamina, which has been distributing them as part of a plan to switch households from more expensive kerosone to cheaper liquefied petroleum gas for cooking.

Sanusi said Pertamina was solely responsible for distribution of the canisters.

“The city administration had a clear agreement with Pertamina for the establishment and set up of SPPBE [liquefied natural gas canister refill stations]. These stations, which are technically under Pertamina, have the responsibility to control the canisters that pass through them.”

Meanwhile, the Jakarta Police said on Friday that said it would continue interrogating directors of a company, identified only as PT TMM, in Tangerang on Monday. The company is believed to be one of 70 companies across the Greater Jakarta area producing illegal gas canisters.

“We initially interrogated the executive director of the company,” said Adj. Sr. Comr. Eko Saputro, chief of the environmental resources unit at the Jakarta Police’s special crimes division.

“The person said he cannot be held completely responsible, and blamed the company’s technical and operational directors instead. Both operational and technical directors have been summoned for questioning. If we find sufficient evidence against any of them, we will arrest them immediately,” he said.

“The company has produced more than 200,000 illegal gas canisters since 2009. These canisters are already in circulation and have been distributed to legal depots in Jakarta, Depok, Tangerang and Bekasi. So, they are now actually mixed with the original, legal canisters at the filling stations. It will be quite some work trying to recall all of those illegal canisters,” Eko said, adding that police had interrogated seven PT TMM employees.

“Police have confiscated 200 gas canisters as evidence from PT TMM. We are going to coordinate with Pertamina to test those canisters,” he said.

Police will continue investigations into the 70 companies believed to be producing illegal canisters, Eko said.

“We would like to remind the public once again to always be careful in using gas stoves. We are also going to ask Pertamina to check the canisters at the filling stations. Pertamina is the one who knows which one is legal and which isn’t.”

Pertamina spokesman Basuki Trikora Putra confirmed that Pertamina was responsible for the distribution of the three-kilogram gas canisters.

“But we will wait for the police investigation to conclude, especially when there are indications of illegal products. Of course Pertamina will assist the police in regard to investigations,” Basuki said.

Gas Cylinder Explosions Across City
April 8 One dead in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta
April 17 Four dead, six injured in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta
April 20 One injured in Cipayung, Depok
April 25 Six injured in Gambir, Central Jakarta
April 26 One dead in Bogor
April 26 Thirty shanty homes burned down in Pademangan, North Jakarta; no deaths or injuries recorded
April 28 Five injured in Palmerah, West Jakarta
May 7 Six injured in Pulo Gadung, East Jakarta


How to Spot an Illegal Gas Cylinder
1. Absence of rubber safety seals
2. Valve regulators that can be easily loosened
3. Illegal cylinders are lighter than original gas cylinders with national standards certification