Court delays hearing evictees suit

JAKARTA: The opening session of a civil lawsuit filed by evicted residents from Tanjung Duren, West Jakarta, was put back to Dec. 4 as the court had yet to receive the lawyers' letters of appointment, and that the defendants failed to turn up.

Presiding judge Aritonga of the West Jakarta District Court ordered the lawyers to sort out the problem.

The residents are accusing Agustina Munawar, who claims she owns 12 hectares of land in the area known as Kampung Sawah, of arbitrarily evicting them with the help of the West Jakarta Municipality and hired thugs on October.

Zainal Arifin, the lawyer for Gerald Tuga Faber, whose client claims ownership of 400 hectares of vacated land in the same area, said that the Faber clan wished to be joined as plaintiffs.

"We want Agustina Munawar to retract her claim to the land because my client has valid ownership documents for the land, including the part she claims is hers," Zainal said. -- JP