NHK sued for disputed footage

NHK sued for disputed footage

JAKARTA: A former employee of Nippon Hoso Kyokai (NHK),
Japan's biggest and only public television station, has filed a
civil suit against the company for allegedly engineering fish
bombings off Baranglompo Island, South Sulawesi in 1997.

Frans Padak Demon, whose employment contract with NHK expired
in 1998, alleged here on Wednesday that former NHK Jakarta Bureau
chief Tsutomu Sakamoto had engineered the fish bombings by asking
local fishermen to bomb the fish. The footage was broadcast by
NHK television station in Tokyo on Aug. 29 and Sept. 6, 1997.

"I want NHK to admit its mistake in engineering the fish and
coral reef bombings off Baranglompo Island. The financial
compensation is not so important," Frans was quoted by Antara as
saying.

Frans sought financial compensation worth Rp 1 billion
(US$115,000) in the lawsuit submitted to the Central Jakarta
District Court on Wednesday.

NHK headquarters, however, denied creating video footage when
its crew covered the fish bombings off Baranglompo Island in
1997.

"NHK crew stumbled upon a group of fishermen bombing fish when
they made a special coverage in the Sulawesi water," NHK Tokyo
said in a press statement received by The Jakarta Post on
Wednesday.

The common practice of fishing by bombing them are blamed for
massive destruction of coral reefs around Baranglompo Island. --
JP