Lapindo CEO questioned on mudflow disaster
Thursday, July 6 2006 - 01:28 AM WIB
Company president and general manager Imam Agustino was questioned only a day after six suspects were named for alleged negligence in the accident, but East Java Police detective unit chief Sr. Comr. Amhar Azeth said his status was a witness.
?Up to now, there?s no new suspect. However, the number of suspects might increase because we haven?t finished examining the executives.?
Suspects named Tuesday were Willem Hunila and Edi Sutiyono, who are Lapindo employees in its drilling division and four employees of drilling contractor PT Medici Citra Nusantara project manager Slamet Riyanto and drilling supervisors Slamet BK, Subie and Rahenod.
They are accused of negligence for not installing protective casing at the required depth. ?Their negligent act caused damage or devastation that led to material and non-material losses,? Amhar said.
The men will be charged with violating articles 187 and 188 of the Criminal Code on endangerment of the public, either deliberately or accidentally. If found guilty, they could face 15-year jail terms.
They also are accused of violating the 1997 Environmental Management Law and the 2007 Water Resources Law, carrying an additional sentence of up to 18 years.
Lapindo?s lawyer Abi Tisnadisastra said Wednesday it was up to the police to proceed with their investigation.
?We don?t want to talk much, as we fear that it might be distorted by the media and cause misunderstandings. But if it?s about the truth, let?s prove it in court. "Now, I?m following the police?s investigation procedures,? he told The Jakarta Post.
Imam was first questioned as a witness in late June along with Medici?s president director Yenny Nawawi.
The second questioning, Amhar said, focused on technical matters related to drilling.
The East Java Police has so far questioned 45 witnesses, including 21 residents, nine Lapindo employee, five Medici staff and two expert witnesses.
Work continues on trying to halt the foul-smelling hot mudflow from spreading, which now covers 126 hectares of paddy field in five villages and has caused the closure of 17 schools, 15 factories and the Surabaya-Gempol turnpike.
The executive director of the Indonesian Forum for Environment in East Java, Ridlo Saiful Ashadi, said the case should be considered a corporate crime and the company directors should be charged instead of their workers.
?Even Nirwan Bakrie as commissioner should also be examined and named a suspect for causing criminal damage to the environment,? be said of the member of the Bakrie family
?We hope the police are committed to acting fairly and transparently m investigating the Lapindo case? (*)