Japanese man loses battle against PT Coca-Cola
Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Japanese citizen Takasu Masaharu lost his legal battle against giant international soft drink producer PT Coca-Cola Indonesia on Wednesday after the South Jakarta District Court ruled that he had insufficient proof to link his sickness -- loss of hair and sore throat -- with the product.
Presiding Judge Soedarto said that according to the evidence and witnesses presented during the eight-month trial, Masaharu failed to prove his allegations that a bottle of Coca-Cola had made him ill leading to his hospitalization.
"According to expert witness Djaja Surja Atmadja from the University of Indonesia, forensic laboratory test results, and medical examinations, the cola couldn't have made the plaintiff sick," said Soedarto.
The court, however, only entertained the opinion of Djaja, an expert witness proposed by Coca-Cola, while it turned down an expert witness from Masaharu during the previous trial.
The panel of three judges ruled that Masaharu's requests that the court declare the company guilty of ignoring a consumer's right to safe products in accordance with Articles 4, 7, and 8 of the Consumer Protection Law were rejected.
The court also threw out all of Masaharu's demands that Coca- Cola withdraw all bottled drinks from the market and stop all advertisements of the product as well as demands that the company pay US$1,473,477 for material losses and US$6 million for nonmaterial losses.
Thus, the demand that Coca-Cola publish an apology in 10 national newspapers, 10 national magazines, and 10 foreign- language dailies had no legal basis, the court added.
The three judges rejected Masaharu's lawsuit against the Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM), and the vendor Junaedi.
However, the court threw out the defamation action brought by Coca-Cola against the Japanese.
After the trial, Masaharu's lawyer Ike Farida said she was very disappointed because the judges had applied the wrong law.
"The judges should have used the Consumer Protection Law instead of the Criminal Code. The Consumer Protection Law rules that it is the producer that should prove that their product is safe, not the other way round," she argued adding that she would talk with her client before deciding whether to appeal to the higher court.
Coca-Cola's lawyer Panji Prasetyo said that he was satisfied with the court's decision.
Masaharu, an employee of a Japanese firm in Jakarta, bought a 193-millimeter bottle of Coca-Cola from a vendor in Bintaro, South Jakarta, on Oct. 19, 2003. Upon drinking the coke, he claimed that he suddenly felt a burning sensation in his throat and chest. He also felt queasy.
Upon inspecting the bottle, Masaharu was startled to see a piece of mosquito coil floating in the bottle.
An analysis conducted by the National Police forensic laboratory in February last year concluded that the drink contained pesticide.
Masaharu went to the nearest hospital for immediate treatment, and filed a complaint against Coca-Cola. The firm agreed to pay his hospital bill, and offered him two boxes of coke for free. Masaharu demanded the firm pay damages, apologize, and withdraw its product until the company was sure that its products were safe for consumption.
Coca-cola rejected the demands insisting that they had an effective consumer response program and a dedicated team that was ready to provide support to consumers.
Masaharu filed the lawsuit on April 1 last year.