'Matra', Hercules go back to court

'Matra', Hercules go back to court

JAKARTA: Lawyer of Matra monthly magazine and alleged gang
leader Hercules Rozario are going back to court after mediation
talks about a defamation suit deadlocked.

During a mediation hearing on Monday presided by judge
Asnahwati, Matra's lawyer Leliana affirmed that her client had
refused to pay Rp 2 billion (US$217,391) in punitive damages to
Hercules who sued the monthly for alleged defamation.

Matra would only agree to publish an interview with the
plaintiff and a public apology.

"It's not that we want to put the squeeze on Matra, but, by
law, we have the right to demand compensation," Hercules' lawyer,
Gusti Randa, was quoted as saying by Antara.

Hercules sued the magazine over its story on people in
Jakarta: "The Metropolis Kings" on August, in which an article
alleged he was a gang leader who had made his name in Tanah
Abang, Central Jakarta. -- Antara