KPN to sue TV station over RI graft charges

KPN to sue TV station over RI graft charges

AMSTERDAM (Dow Jones): Dutch telecommunications company Royal
KPN NV (KPN) said Tuesday that it will take local television
station KRO to court over a news report aired by the station that
accused KPN of bribery in its business dealings in Indonesia.

KPN said it sees the "suggestions" made by the news report as
"untrue and very misleading," pointing out that its "reputation
and integrity" have been tainted by the accusations.

KRO on March 28 aired the news program Netwerk, which reported
that KPN had bribed people, including a businessman close to
highly placed Indonesian officials, to get stakes in Indonesian
companies Bakrie Electronic Communications in 1994 and Telkomsel
in 1996.

The telecoms company said the accusations have caused "great
damage," and that it will start a procedure at the regional
Amsterdam court, asking that KRO pays out damage costs to KPN.

A KPN spokesman said one of the reasons for taking KRO to
court is that the network "didn't give us the chance to give our
point of view in the report," adding that the stations "also
didn't report our denial of the allegations two days later."

The spokesman declined to specify the approximate cost of the
damages, but stressed that "allegations like these could have a
very negative effect on our current and future dealings with
companies and governments, and it can cost us lots of money."

KRO and KPN are scheduled to meet in court on May 12, KPN
said.

Meanwhile, a KRO spokesman said Tuesday that KPN hasn't given
the television station any official notice about the court
hearing.

"No, we haven't heard anything official from them (KPN) yet,"
the spokesman said, when asked to comment about the planned court
case.