Crash victims' families receive compensation
Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan
Relatives of Mandala crash victims in Medan received compensation from state insurance firm PT Jasa Raharja on Wednesday, taking advantage of the moment to lash out at the airlines for its slow response after the accident.
Sabarudin Rambe, the father of passenger Prizani Anggita who died in the accident, said the Mandala staff treated him unkindly at a time when he was in deep grief and desperate to find out about the fate of his daughter.
"We're very offended by Mandala's service. They should have at least been kind and informed us about the accident but they didn't and we're disappointed," said Sabarudin, who spoke on behalf of the families of the victims after receiving compensation from the insurance firm.
Tuti Hartati, whose husband died in the accident, complained about the tedious process she had to go through to get the compensation. She said the airlines could just send an official to take care of the matter, like Jasa Raharja did, instead of requiring them to go to Mandala's office.
"We just lost our loved ones and we're told to go to Mandala's office to take care of the compensation. Jasa Raharja staff came to our homes to take care of the matter," said Tuti, who is nine- month pregnant.
At least 149 people including people on the ground were killed when a Mandala aircraft slammed into a densely populated residential area near Polonia airport in Medan last week in one of the country's worst airplane tragedies.
Jasa Raharja President Director Darwin Noor said that 47 out of 77 families of crash victims who had died had received compensation amounting to Rp 50 million (US$5,000) each from the company in Medan. In Jakarta, the company also delivered compensation to the families of 12 crash victims on Wednesday. For the remaining families, the compensation was distributed by the company's branches where the victims' families live.
PT Mandala Airlines acting chairman Maj. Gen. Asril H. Tanjung welcomed the criticism over the company's poor services after the accident and conveyed his apologies.
"We'll use the criticism to improve. We will deal with all the unfinished matters to the best of our ability," Asril said.
Following the crash, in a move to boost safety in the domestic airline industry, the government has been conducting spot safety checks. As a result four Boeing 737-200 planes operated by four different airlines, including Mandala, were grounded over the weekend.
Another Boeing 737-200 aircraft, operated by Mandala Airlines, was again grounded following a random safety check of 11 aircraft on Monday night.
Asril said that the company plans to compensate all the families of the crash victims in a month's time, both passengers and non-passengers.
He said the amount of compensation would vary. A family of a person who died in the crash, he said, would receive Rp 300 million, while a victim suffering permanent injury would receive up to Rp 300 million along with medical costs for 30 days after being released from hospital.
An injured victim will receive a maximum of Rp 50 million in addition to medical costs for 30 days after getting out of the hospital, while those suffering from burns will have their medical costs covered for 90 days after being released from the hospital.
Asril also said that residents whose houses were destroyed in the crash would get their houses rebuilt.
"The compensation will be for all victims, both passengers and residents, even if there is a passenger who was not listed in the manifest," he said.