Negligence in overpass deaths falls under RI law
Negligence in overpass deaths falls under RI law
JAKARTA (JP): Any proof of negligence behind the collapse of
the overpass in Grogol which killed three workers and injured 18
others on Friday, will be dealt with under Indonesian law, a high
ranking official said.
Public works contracts between the government and contractors
do not have a clause about negligence or the possibility of
death, Ruslan Diwiryo, the secretary-general of the Ministry of
Public Works said yesterday.
However "the contracting parties are subject to Indonesian
law", including in cases of negligence, Ruslan told The Jakarta
Post.
The contractors of the overpass are South Korean Hanbo General
Contractor and Indonesian PT Bumi Karsa.
"The contract states the contractor must ensure the safety of
workers, and that it must provide insurance," Ruslan said.
He also told a press conference that violations of work
procedures based on international construction standards "mostly
prove fatal."
Minister Radinal Moochtar said Friday that early findings
revealed a violation of work procedures: the premature removal of
bracing around the stagers before the concrete was hard enough.
Ruslan pointed out that blame for the accident would not be
shouldered by the contractors alone.
The important task of the team formed under the ministry
Saturday to investigate the cause of the accident, Ruslan said,
is to determine "whether all strategic procedures to be taken
were conducted under the notice of all three parties involved in
the project".
These parties are the supervising company appointed to
represent the government, the Japanese PCI & Yec, the
contractors' own supervisor and the contractor itself.
"There must be good coordination between all three parties,"
Ruslan said.
He added that detailed guidelines of "strategic procedures"
need not all be on paper.
A step like the premature removal of bracings is "too stupid
and beyond common sense," he said. "But from this experience I
personally think that details may have to be included (on
paper)," he added.
Ruslan said he could not mention the team's deadline, only
saying the ministry hopes for quick results. The team is headed
by the ministry's Inspector General, E.L.M. Malonda.
As of yesterday, local police have not arrested anybody in
relation to the incident.
"Nobody has been arrested as we haven't yet collected enough
evidence. We do not yet known who asked workers to remove the
concrete bracings," said Jakarta Police Spokesman Lt. Col. Iman
Haryatna.
According to Iman, at least two personnel from the project
constructor, one local and one Korean, have been questioned by
detectives.
"We'll interrogate the project chief officers soon after we
have enough data and information from related sources," he said.
Officer Col. Erwin M.P. from the National Police Forensics
Laboratory said yesterday that his team is still studying the
project's technical data.
If found guilty, Iman said, the responsible officer of the
project might face a maximum imprisonment term of five years.
Meanwhile, a worker at another tollroad project in Pluit,
North Jakarta, was reportedly dead when he fell down from the
stagers. Eyewitnesses said that Tomo, 17, was busy with concrete
molding when he fell down. (anr/bsr)