Judges rule Dewi's action defective

Judges rule Dewi's action defective

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The South Jakarta District Court threw out on Friday a lawsuit
filed by Dewi Sukarno -- one the wives of founding president
Sukarno -- over the ownership of a valuable plot of land, and
instead advised her to refile the case.

"The court cannot make a ruling as it is not clear whether the
plaintiff is suing in her personal capacity or on the behalf of
Sari Asih Hospital Foundation, which she chairs," Presiding Judge
Zoeber Djajadi told the plaintiff.

In their decision, the judges said that some of the 25 claims
made by the plaintiff failed to make clear in which legal
capacity she was bringing her claim.

Moreover, the court said that the foundation's statutes
stipulated that only its board of management, which included the
chairperson, secretary and treasurer, had the right to represent
the foundation.

Dewi's lawyer Sutito told the court he would consult with his
client before deciding whether to file an appeal against the
decision.

Japan-born Dewi, whose maiden name is Naoko Nemoto, sued 11
defendants over the ownership of 10-hectares of land in the
central business district at Jl. Jend. Sudirman Kaveling 52-53,
South Jakarta.

The defendants included: the Jakarta governor, the health
minister, the National Land Agency, PT Danareksa Jakarta
International, PT Arthayasa Grahatama, PT Danayasa Arthatama and
PT Bank Artha Graha.

Dewi claimed she purchased the land in 1965 and had planned to
build a hospital on it. But, after fleeing Jakarta in 1967 due to
the political climate, the land was transferred to various
institutions without Dewi's consent.