Bankruptcy petition against Manulife rejected
Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The Central Jakarta Commercial Court rejected on Friday a bankruptcy petition filed against insurance company PT Asuransi Jiwa Manulife Indonesia (AJMI), a local subsidiary of Canada's Manulife Financial Corp.
The Court said the rejection of the petition was inevitable as AJMI had paid all dividends demanded by the plaintiff, Paul Sukran, the receiver of the now defunct PT Dharmala Sakti Sejahtera (DSS), the former joint venture partner of Manulife Financial Corp in AJMI.
"We see the case as no longer being relevant ... the defendant (AJMI) owes no more debts to the plaintiff," presiding Judge Ch. Kristipurnami Wulan said.
The bankruptcy petition was filed on Jan. 15 this year by Paul, and alleges that AJMI had refused to pay dividends totaling Rp 3.6 billion (US$352,900) in 1998 to DSS.
The plaintiff revised the grounds of the petition on the same day, inserting into it an allegation that AJMI owed the plaintiff Rp 1.9 billion in interest. The court, however, rejected the revision.
AJMI has contended it had no intention of deferring the dividend payment and blamed the plaintiff for failing to show an account with a reputable bank.
Aside from the trial, both sides had initially sought an out of court settlement, under which AJMI agreed to pay only the dividends.
The plaintiff received the dividends but then insisted that the court wind up AJMI as it had yet to pay the interest.
DSS previously owned 40 percent of AJMI, while Manulife Financial Corp. controls 51 percent, and the International Finance Corporation, the investment arm of the World Bank, holds the remaining 9 percent.
Paul's lawyer, Yuhelson of Bramm Associates, said he was disappointed with the verdict, and vowed to seek other legal redress to safeguard his client's rights.
"AJMI has not yet paid the interest, so the verdict is unfair to us," he said. "It (AJMI) also paid the dividends after we filed a lawsuit ... it's clear that they have no intention of fulfilling their obligations to our client."
AJMI's lawyer, Sheila A. Salomo of Hotma Sitompul & Associates, welcomed the verdict, saying AJMI was prepared to fight if the plaintiff's pursued further legal action.
"It's normal that they would take further legal steps as they're disappointed with the verdict. But we're always ready to face the challenge," she said.
Established in 1985, AJMI is the fourth-largest life insurance company in the country with total assets worth Rp 2.1 trillion.
AJMI operates its business through a network of 72 branches in 33 cities throughout Indonesia, with the support of more than 3,000 staff.