Police mull mudflow corporate probe

The National Police are considering probing the mudflow case in Sidoarjo, East Java, as a corporate crime, in line with the demands of environmental and human rights groups. The Jakarta Post reported Tuesday.

?So far, we are still investigating it as an individual crime. We?ll wait for the investigation to progress. Based on that, we might consider it a corporate crime,? National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Paulus Purwoko said Monday.

He was responding to a call by activists from the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi) and other NGOs including the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence and the Foundation of the Indonesian Legal Aid Institute, who went to the National Police headquarters to convey the request.

They urged the police to question all the top leaders of Lapindo Brantas Inc., which operates the exploration well that is spewing the mud, and BP Migas, the oil and gas regulatory agency.

East Java Police have named nine suspects in the case, including Lapindo general manager Imam Agustino and PT Medici Citra Nusa president director Yenni Nawawi. They are charged with negligence under the Criminal Code and the Environmental Law.

?We consider it inappropriate to leave the blame only on these nine people considering the huge social, economic and environmental impacts caused by the carelessness in preventing gas pipe leakage which resulted in the mudflow crisis,? said Walhi executive director Chalid Muhammad.

Chalid said three other shareholders in the mining project -PT Energi Mega Persada Tbk, PT Medco Energi Tbk. and Santos Ltd. - should also bear the burden.

?In theory, a company can be charged for violating administrative, environmental, financial, labor, manufacturing and business competition laws. All the shareholders can be charged under the first two categories,? said Chalid. (*)