Fatal collapse of mosque tower investigated amid land dispute
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.