Police could charge Newmont with corporate crime: Expert

The police are yet to declare the pollution of Buyat Bay, North Sulawesi, a corporate crime, which would enable them to implicate PT Newmont Minahasa Raya in the case, The Jakarta Post reported on Friday.

A professor of environmental law Daud Silalahi, said the police could only declare Newmont's top officials suspects if they had evidence that the company disposed of tailings containing heavy metal substances, which had caused locals to suffer bodily disorders or diseases.

"I don't know what the police have found so far. But, if their scientific examination proves that Newmont has dumped heavy metal materials that exceed the standard set by the government, then they can charge the firm under the article on corporate crime," Daud of the Bandung-based Padjadjaran University said.

The police declared on Wednesday the United States-operated mining company's manager of external relations David Sompie a suspect in the case. He was charged under Law No. 23/1997 on the environment for deliberately disposing of toxic materials in the bay.

Article 46 of the law says a company's top officials can be implicated in a pollution case if it is proven that the violation has been committed with the knowledge of the company.

While hailing the police's move, chairman of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) Longgena Ginting expressed concern that the police would lay the blame on an individual employee of PT Newmont.

"Although it is not easy for Newmont to avoid corporate crime charges, the company can try to blame certain employees. We hope that the police are able to prove that top ranking officials are also responsible," he said.

Former environment minister Sonny Keraf, who was in office between 1999 and 2001, had told the police that Newmont had failed to pass the requirements of an ecological risk assessment (ERA).

Police said subsequently that PT Newmont had not thoroughly detoxified the tailings it discharged into Buyat Bay.

Sonny's successor Nabiel Makarim announced recently that a review by 16 scientists from several universities and independent organizations concluded that PT Newmont had violated regulations and contaminated the bay.

Police said that, as of last week, they had asked several scientists from different fields to verify police findings and laboratory test results. The police also claimed their laboratory met international standards.

Newmont has denied the accusation, saying that since it began operating in the region in 1996 it had detoxified its tailings and provided regular reports to the government. The company has ceased production in North Sulawesi.

The company said tests of 390 samples by PT ALS Indonesia showed a mercury level of only 0.055 ?/L, while tests by the Office of the State Minister of the Environment showed a level of 0.059 ?/L and Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) found 0.005 ?/L, far below the government's tolerable limit. (*)