Judges rule in favor of cigarette firms in advertisement lawsuit
Judges rule in favor of cigarette firms in advertisement lawsuit
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
A panel of three judges ruled in favor of the powerful cigarette
industry against the plaintiffs, which consisted of consumer and
health watchdogs, in a legal battle over illegal cigarette
commercials.
Worse, the judges ordered the plaintiff to issue a public
apology in the print media to the accused, comprising: cigarette
producers PT Djarum Kudus Tbk and PT H.M. Sampoerna Tbk;
television stations RCTI and SCTV; print media Bisnis Indonesia
and Gatra magazine; advertising companies PT Perada Swara
Production, PT Citra Lintas Indonesia and PT Metro Perdana
Indonesia.
The judges ruled that the plaintiff had defamed the defendants
when they made public the lawsuit during a media conference in
June last year.
"We will appeal," said lawyer Tulus Abadi, who represented the
plaintiffs, immediately after presiding judge Tjaraka Imam
Widadadi read out the verdict at the South Jakarta District
Court.
Tulus commented that the verdict "will set a bad precedent for
the freedom of press and public information."
Judge Tjaraka dismissed the lawsuit, which was initiated
by the Indonesian Consumers Foundation (YLKI), the Indonesian
Heart Foundation (YJI), the Indonesian Women against Tobacco
Foundation (WITT), the Indonesian Cancer Foundation (YKI) and the
Foundation for Coping with Smoking Problems (YLM3).
The lawsuit concerned a series of cigarette commercials which
aired from June to December 2001 on RCTI and SCTV in both the
morning and afternoon.
The plaintiffs claimed the commercials violated Government
Regulation No. 38/2000, which stipulates that electronic media
may run cigarette advertisements only between 9:30 p.m. and 5
a.m.
"The defendants did not do anything wrong, as they only
contracted third parties to promote their products. They have no
connection with the air time," he said, defending giant cigarette
producers PT Djarum and PT H.M. Sampoerna.
Although the judges acknowledged that the cigarette
commercials were aired illegally, the verdict did not provide a
clear explanation as to the guilty party in the case, as all the
other accused companies, including RCTI and SCTV, were also
acquitted.
Another noted legal case in which a plaintiff lost to the
cigarette industry involved lawyer R.O. Tambunan. The lawyer had
filed a class action suit on behalf of Indonesian youths against
PT Bentoel, for an alleged violation in using the words Remaja
Jaya (Successful Youth) as a brand name of one of its products.