Newmont's Ness, five others detained<\/p>\n
Abdul Khalik
\nThe Jakarta Post\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
President Director of PT Newmont Minahasa Raya (MNR) Richard
\nBruce Ness and five other company officers have been placed in
\npolice detention despite the fact that they have been cooperating
\nwith the police investigation into alleged pollution in Buyat
\nbay.<\/p>\n
Ness and Phil Turner, Newmont's production and maintenance
\nmanager, were detained after undergoing ten hours of questioning
\non Thursday.<\/p>\n
Four others -- site manager Bill Long, external relations
\nmanager David Sompie, environment superintendent Jerry Kojansow
\nand waste processing superintendent Putra Wijayanti -- were taken
\ninto police custody on Wednesday evening.<\/p>\n
Police had earlier charged the six as suspects in the
\npollution case.<\/p>\n
The National Police's director of specific crimes, Brig. Gen.
\nSuharto, said on Thursday that the police had established
\nsufficient prima facie evidence to detain all of the suspects
\nuntil their case files were complete.<\/p>\n
\"It is easier for us to question them if they are all here as
\nwe won't have to send out summonses every time we need them. This
\nwill allow us to complete the investigation faster,\" said
\nSuharto.<\/p>\n
Suharto said the police expected to finish the case files on
\nthe suspects in less than two weeks pending explanations from a
\nnumber of other experts, including Muladi, an environmental law
\nexpert from the University of Diponegoro, Semarang, Central Java.<\/p>\n
Newmont expressed concern over the police's decision to detain
\nNess and five other company officers, saying that the company had
\nguaranteed that it would fully cooperate with the police in their
\ninvestigations.<\/p>\n
\"PT NMR believes that these detentions are unnecessary as the
\ncompany has guaranteed it will cooperate fully, and the employees
\nhave always complied with police summonses,\" the company said in
\na statement on Thursday.<\/p>\n
\"NMR fully supports its employees and their family members and
\nwill take legal steps to secure their release from detention,\" it
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Newmont has been accused of polluting Buyat bay, where it has
\nbeen dumping its tailings since 1996. The police say their
\nforensic tests found that the level of heavy metals in Buyat bay
\nexceeded the safety levels set by the Office of the State
\nMinister for the Environment.<\/p>\n
The company has denied the pollution allegations but local and
\ninternational media have shown pictures of villagers living close
\nto the mine with skin diseases and large lumps they claim were
\ncaused by pollution from the mine.<\/p>\n
The government has formed a joint team comprising officials
\nfrom the Office of the State Minister for the Environment, the
\nMinistry of Health and the police to take more samples from the
\nbay.<\/p>\n
The police had earlier announced that all of the suspects had
\nbeen charged under Articles 41, 42, 43, 44, and 46 of Law No.
\n23\/1997 on environmental pollution caused by an individual.<\/p>\n
Under this law, an individual who deliberately contaminates
\nthe environment is liable to 10 years in prison while if his
\nconduct causes harm or injury to human beings, he or she is
\nliable to 15 years in prison.<\/p>\n
Suharto said on Thursday that the police would question the
\nState Minister for the Environment, Nabiel Makarim, on Friday as
\nto whether the company had submitted regular reports on its waste
\ndisposal system and whether the company had fulfilled other
\nministry requirements.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/newmonts-ness-five-others-detained-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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