Dossiers of South Koreans not yet ready
Dossiers of South Koreans not yet ready
JAKARTA (JP): The police have delayed submitting to the
Prosecutor's Office the dossiers of two executives of South
Korean Hanbo General Contractors, who are being investigated in
connection with the collapse of the Grogol overpass which killed
three workers.
A senior West Jakarta police detective, who wanted to remain
anonymous, told The Jakarta Post yesterday that more testimonies
from workers are needed.
A 30-meter part of the overpass, designed to link Jl. Daan
Mogot and Jl. S. Parman, collapsed on March 22. Three workers
were killed and 18 others were injured.
West Jakarta police chief, Lt. Col. Hari Pribadi, who will
leave his post this Saturday, could not be reached for comment
yesterday.
About two weeks after the incident, he told the Post that the
dossiers on the two South Koreans, identified only as KHW and
LBW, who are Hanbo's general superintendent and project
construction manager respectively, have been completed.
"We'll submit the dossiers to the Prosecutor's Office as soon
as we get a copy of the report on the collapse of the overpass
currently being examined by National Police forensic scientists,"
officer Hari said at that time.
The forensic report, scheduled to be completed soon, will be
used by police as supporting material evidence, he said.
According to the police source, the completion of the dossiers
could be complicated as police have to assemble a strong case to
charge the two foreigners with negligence.
"That's why we need more time," said the detective.
When asked to comment, Jakarta Police spokesman Lt. Col. Iman
Haryatna said: "It's not a rare thing when police are asked to
modify dossiers. Therefore, we have to correct the dossiers again
and again to make sure that everything is legally acceptable." He
brushed off rumors that the case might have been settled out of
court.
The two Koreans were the project's highest-ranking personnel
at the site when the overpass collapsed, said Hari.
According to Hari, it was LBW who allegedly assigned the
workers, numbering around 20, to remove the bracings supporting
the loop ramp several days before the accident.
If found guilty, the two will face a maximum prison term of
five years each as stipulated in article 359 of the Criminal
Code.
The two suspects have not been detained but the police have
confiscated their passports to prevent them leaving the country.
(bsr)