Kiosk owner mulls suit against city officials

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)