Suit against polluting firms rejected<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The North Jakarta District Court has rejected a
\nlawsuit against five factories and the West Java administration
\nover river pollution filed by residents.<\/p>\n
Presiding judge Adi Nugroho said on Wednesday that his office
\nhad no right to process the lawsuit as neither the plaintiffs nor
\nthe accused live in North Jakarta. The polluted river is also
\nlocated in West Java.<\/p>\n
The plaintiffs are residents of Serang, West Java. The accused
\nare PT Indah Kiat Pulp and Paper, PT Onward Paper Utama, PT Cipta
\nPaperia, PT Sekawan Maju Pesat, PT Picon Jaya and the West Java
\nadministration which are all based in West Java.<\/p>\n
As many as 5,000 residents of Serang filed a lawsuit against
\nthe five factories for polluting the Ciujung River with
\nunprocessed industrial waste between 1992 and 1994.<\/p>\n
The residents also filed suit against the West Java
\nadministration for failing to supervise the environment.<\/p>\n
The lawsuit was filed at the North Jakarta District Court
\nbecause one of the factories, Cipta Paperia, had its head office
\non Jl. Raya Sunter, North Jakarta. The office relocated to West
\nJava in 1990, of which the residents were unaware. The lawsuit
\nwas filed this year.<\/p>\n
The North Jakarta judge then suggested that the plaintiffs
\nfile a lawsuit with the Tangerang or Serang District Court where
\nthe factories are located. The plaintiffs' lawyers, Lutfi Yazid
\nand Irianto Subiyanto, said they would do so.<\/p>\n
According to the lawyers, the residents are seeking a court
\nruling which will force the factories to conduct an environmental
\naudit as required by the 1991 law on the environment.<\/p>\n
The residents are also seeking Rp 18.7 billion (US$8.5
\nmillion) for the loss of their rights to live healthily and also
\nfor the drop in their agricultural production. Most of the
\nresidents had shrimp ponds which got water from the Ciujung
\nRiver. (29)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/suit-against-polluting-firms-rejected-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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