Newmont president director named suspect in Buyat case

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.