Govt to go ahead with its criminal charge against Newmont

State Minister of Environmet Rachmat Witoelar has made it clear that the government would go ahead with its plan to charge six executives of Newmont Minahasa Raya over alleged pollution caused by the company despite the ongoing negotiation on the out of the court settlement proposed by the court, Investor Daily reported on Saturday.

"The out of the court settlement will not affect the trial of the company's executives," he was quoted as saying. Witoelar said that the out of the court settlement was proposed by the court as a normal process in dealing with a civil charge. "But it does not mean that the government has halted the trial process against the company's executives," he added.

The government has filed both criminal and civil charges against Newmont over alleged pollution. The criminal charge against the company is handled by the North Sulawesi court where the company's five executives allegedly in the alleged pollution would soon face trial, while the civil suit is handled by a Jakarta court in which the government has sought for total compensation of over US$130 million.

Both cases stem from allegations that the company's undersea mineral waste dumping ground in Buyat bay near its mine site in Minahasa, North Sulawesi, has caused serious pollution and sickened the villagers living near the area.

The company has denied the charge and has demanded the government to reopen an investigation in the case. (*)