Factory building demolished

Factory building demolished

TANGERANG (JP): Strong opposition from the residents of
Batuceper subdistrict here colored Tuesday's demolition of a
factory building and the clearing of the 4.5 hectares of disputed
land where the structure stood.

The action was ordered by the local district court following a
March 1998 Supreme Court ruling which granted the ownership of
the land to the plaintiff in the case, Lim Salim, who had brought
a lawsuit in 1996 against Hendra Kartika, the owner of the
factory.

On Tuesday, Hendra assailed dozens of police officers who
arrived along with two huge mechanical breakers, before being
pulled away. Screaming loudly, a never-say-die Hendra then
climbed onto the building.

A throng of neighbors arrived to help him, but they could do
little to stop the officers from executing the court ruling.

"This 4.5 hectares of land must be totally cleared out," court
clerk Amsori Thoyib declared.

Amsori said Lim had bought the land, originally owned by Thio
O. Tong, at an auction arranged by the Tangerang District Court
in September 1995. However, Lim had no knowledge then that
Hendra's factory stood on it.

Lim filed a lawsuit against Hendra in the Tangerang District
Court, and won the case despite Hendra's two successive appeals
to higher courts. (41/ylt)