Fatal collapse of mosque tower investigated amid land dispute

Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

City police are investigating the collapse of a mosque tower in North Jakarta that killed four workers on Wednesday.

North Jakarta Police chief Sr. Comr. Dede Suryana said police had yet to declare any suspects in the accident that also injured 20 other workers.

"We will investigate the case to find those responsible for the fatal accident. We have found many violations in the construction of this mosque," Dede said.

The tower of Baiturrahman Mosque on Jl. Haji Murtadho in the Tugu Utara subdistrict of Koja, North Jakarta, collapsed on Wednesday, killing four workers and injuring 20 others.

Police were now trying to find out why the 50-meter tower, which was being renovated, suddenly collapsed.

Dede pointed out that the North Jakarta municipality had instructed the suspension of construction at the mosque early this year as its management had not secured a construction permit.

It was not immediately clear if the mosque did not have a construction permit when the incident took place on Wednesday.

Local residents said that the mosque has been under renovation for four years now.

According to Criminal Code article 359 on negligence causing death, those who are found guilty of accidentally causing other people's deaths can face a maximum sentence of five years in prison.

Police suspected substandard construction as the main cause of the accident, with no building contractor being involved in the project.

In addition, the ownership status of the 6,000-square-meters of land was subject to a legal dispute between a prominent figure in the neighborhood, known as Haji Bahar, who also owns Nurul Hidayah Al-Bahar Foundation, and city-run PT Taman Impian Jaya Ancol, which runs the Ancol Dreamland Park.

"We are interrogating five witnesses, including the foreman, Warno, and four other workers who survived the incident," Dede added.

Bahar was reportedly in Malaysia on a business trip.

After halting the search for possible victims buried in the debris of the 50-meter-tall mosque tower late on Wednesday evening, the rescue team continued scouring the area with a heavy duty excavator on Thursday morning after it received information from injured workers being treated at hospitals.

After four hours, the team managed to find the body of Lastani, 26.

The other fatalities were Wardoyo, 45, Wartani, 50, and Suripto, 30.