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