Newmont president director named suspect in Buyat case

Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

After grilling four Newmont employees, police declared on Tuesday Richard Ness, president director of PT Newmont Minahasa Raya, a suspect in the pollution of Buyat Bay in Minahasa, North Sulawesi.

The authorities also asked the immigration office to prevent Ness and five other suspects from leaving the country.

National Police director of specific crimes Brig. Gen. Suharto said the police had summoned Ness, an American, to go the police headquarters on Thursday to explain the company's disposal policies.

"We summoned him as a suspect because as Newmont's top officers he is responsible for his company's actions. We expect him to come on Thursday," Suharto said.

Newmont confirmed later Tuesday that the summons had been received and that the company would cooperate fully with police investigators.

"PT NMR's employees have made themselves available and are cooperating with the police. The president director is no different and I am happy to help the police investigation in anyway I can," Ness told The Jakarta Post through a short messaging service (SMS).

Police earlier named five Newmont officers suspects in the case: site manager Bill Long, maintenance and production manager Phil Turner, external relations manager David Sompie, superintendent for the environment Jerry Kojansow and superintendent for waste processing Putra Wijayantri.

All have been questioned except Long, who is scheduled to be grilled on Wednesday.

Suharto said the police would charge Ness under Article 46 of Law No. 23/1997 on environmental pollution conducted by a corporation.

The article stipulates that the top officer must be held responsible for a company's misconduct.

Under the law, an individual who knowingly damages the environment is liable to 10 years in prison, while if his/her actions cause harm to humans he/she could face 15 years in prison.

He also said the police were trying to find solid evidence to charge the company with a corporate crime.

None of the suspects have been detained as, according to the police, they were cooperating fully with investigators.

The police forensic laboratory found that heavy metals in Buyat Bay exceeded the safety levels set by the Office of the Minister of the Environment.

Newmont has repeatedly challenged the report, saying that at least three independent laboratories concluded that the bay was not polluted because the heavy metal content was far below government limits.

The government formed last month a joint team comprising officials from the Office of the Minister of the Environment, the Ministry of Health and the police to take more samples from the bay. The team is expected to announce its results soon after the election.

Suharto also said the police had submitted a letter to President Megawati Soekarnoputri advising her that they wished to question State Minister of the Environment Nabiel Makarim as a witness in the case.

"We will question him soon because according to law we only need to notify the President that we want to question a minister, and after submitting a letter, we can go ahead with the questioning," he said.

Suharto explained that police needed Nabiel's explanation on whether Newmont had complied with environmental regulations.

Ness has 20 years management involvement in over US$5 billion of investment in Indonesia. He has been active as Governor of the American Chamber of Commerce in Indonesia and Mining Committee Chair and Mining Association Director.