Bella Saphira sues PT Uniliver

Jakarta: Artist Bella Saphira sued giant Dutch company PT Unilever on Thursday at the South Jakarta District Court for allegedly violating a contract agreement between them and demanded the company pay Rp 1.1 billion (US$110,000) in compensation.

She also sued advertising bureau JWT Adforce and model agency Image.

Bella signed a contract to become the company's model for promoting its Lux product for a year from Feb. 1, 2000 to Feb. 1, 2001, her lawyer, MSM Panggabean told the hearing, which was presided over by Judge Lalu Mariyun.

However, Bella said, PT Unilever broke the terms of the contract by installing a billboard featuring her on Jl. Suniaraja in Bandung up until April 17. The company did not respond to her warrant letters, which were sent six times according to Panggabean.

"I hope that other artists will not be afraid to file such a suit against companies breaking contract agreements with them. Don't be afraid that no companies will hire," she said.

She noted that, until now, people, especially artists, believed that if they filed suits against the companies hiring them, they would be unable to find work promoting products.

The court room was packed with journalists, and many onlookers, including staff members of the district court, tried to get a look at the noted artist.

The case trial will resume next week when lawyers for the respondent present their defense.