Customs sued in Cirebon

Customs sued in Cirebon

CIREBON, West Java: The Cirebon branch of sea freight
forwarder PT Djakarta Lloyd has recently sued a number of
officials from the Customs and Excise Service, including its
director Permana Agung, for allegedly inflicting material and
non-material losses on the company, branch director Idris A.S.
said on Monday.

Idris added that the company was also seriously considering
launching a million-dollar lawsuit against the Customs and Excise
Service in the Cirebon District Court.

He explained that earlier this year two of the company's
containers, which carried two Mercedes Benzes, a Toyota Land
Cruiser and a Jaguar, were forcibly opened by Customs and Excise
officials without the necessary papers, thus causing material
damage considering that the vehicles were brand new, imported
luxury cars and were confiscated as evidence for further
investigation.

"The non-material losses arise from the fact that our
customers trust us less since the incident and, of course, the
death of one of our company's best employees, Priyatmono, who was
interrogated and questioned for hours by customs officials.
Unfortunately, he could not take the pressure," Idris said.

"He was last questioned on Feb. 16 this year. Shortly after,
he was admitted to the hospital and he passed away on March 1."

Idris said he was also going to file a defamation complaint
against customs officials, whom he said had ruined his chances of
being appointed a director of the company due to the incident.
--Antara