Kiosk owner mulls suit against city officials

BOGOR (JP): A sidewalk kiosk owner is threatening to sue city officials who ordered demolition of the structure despite his claim to having paid Rp 8.1 million (US$1,160) in lieu of a building permit.

"I consulted officials from the Bogor Building Construction Planning Agency before building the kiosk... and they said it was OK as long as I paid them Rp 10 million, a prerequisite so the kiosk would not be demolished by the agency," said Soleh Azis, whose kiosk was demolished on Monday.

"I told them it was too high. We eventually agreed to set the payment at Rp 5 million."

He said he paid Rp 5 million to the agency chief, Dody Rosadi, through his colleague, Ujang Surahman.

"Dody confirmed to me that he had received the money and expressed his gratitude over the phone," Soleh said.

He said he paid Dody an additional Rp 3.1 million, which the latter said would be distributed to his subordinates in the agency.

Soleh claimed he was manipulated by the officials because they did not take firm action against other building owners who committed violations.

The agency, with approval of mayor R. Iswara Natanegara, demolished Soleh's kiosk for violating the building permit regulation. A city regulation stipulates that every building in the subdistrict must be located 15 meters from the edge of the road.

"We have repeatedly warned the kiosk owner to comply with the regulation, but he continued with the construction," Dody said. He added that Soleh's kiosk was located only 10 meters from the road.

He denied Soleh's accusation that he received a payoff. "I'm ready to deal with Soleh's lawsuit," he added. (21/edt)