JAKARTA - Indonesian authorities have named the director of PT Peter Metal Technology, a Chinese national, as a suspect in a cesium-137 contamination case.

As announced during a press conference in Jakarta on December 4, the director faces 3 to 10 years in prison and a fine of IDR 8 billion. Authorities have also requested that the Immigration Office issue a travel ban on him.

“Our investigation shows this was not negligence. PT PMT did not handle its waste according to government regulations,” said Sardo Sibarani of the Indonesian Police Criminal Investigation Agency during the press conference.

The investigation has questioned 40 people, including company staff, suppliers, scrap collectors, and officials from regulatory and environmental agencies.

The case has previously led to some exports being recalled in the U.S. Investigators say the contamination likely came from scrap metal containing radioactive material used in the factory, which produced stainless steel for export to China.

"If proper procedures had been followed, the cesium would not have spread," Sibarani added.

The contamination affected about 20 factories in the Cikande Industrial Estate, exposed nine workers who were treated in Jakarta, and led to decontamination of the area.

In October 2025, Indonesian authorities were dealing with radioactive contamination in Cikande after traces of cesium-137 were found at 22 factories, including ones exporting frozen shrimp to the U.S.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) detected cesium-137 in frozen shrimp exported from Indonesia and issued an advisory for distributors and retailers, including Walmart, to dispose of the product, even though the detected levels were below the authority’s intervention threshold.