Flood verdict late, upsets victims

JAKARTA: Flood victims who filed a class action suit against the President, Jakarta governor and West Java governor were disappointed on Thursday as the judges postponed the verdict because they had to attend a law course in Central Java.

Presiding Judge Kornel Sianturi of the Central Jakarta District Court said that the trial was adjourned for two weeks.

About one hundred flood victims, who packed the courtroom, booed the postponement. Many of them expressed their disappointment.

On March 13, the flood victims filed a lawsuit demanding compensation of more than Rp 1.2 trillion (US$125 million) for the material and immaterial damage and losses caused by the flooding, which inundated most of the city earlier this year.

The plaintiffs accused the authorities of failing to give adequate warnings and provide necessary assistance in dealing with the flooding, which forced more than 97,000 families, or 365,000 people, to abandon their homes and take shelter for weeks. --JP