Police grill Newmont manager over buyat case

Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

Police have named PT Newmont Minahasa Raya's maintenance and production manager Phil Turner a suspect for his alleged role in the polluting of Buyat Bay, North Sulawesi.

Turner, an Australian national, is the highest Newmont executive to undergo questioning as a suspect after the police had earlier charged the company's external relations manager, David Sompie, environment superintendent Jerry Kojansow and waste processing superintendent Putra Wijayantri, who are Indonesian employees, as suspects in the case.

National Police Director of Specific Crimes Brig. Gen. Suharto said on Friday that Turner was being questioned for the purpose of ascertaining more information about the by-products of the company's production process.

"Based on our previous questioning of the other suspects, we believe that he (Turner) knows about the kinds of waste that were dumped into the bay," said Suharto.

None of the suspects had been detained as, according to Suharto, they had been cooperating fully with the police.

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

Newmont has repeatedly denied the allegations, saying that at least three independent laboratories had concluded that the levels of heavy metals were far below the government limits.

The government has formed a joint team comprising officials from the Office of the State Minister for the Environment, Ministry of Health and the police to take more samples from the bay. The team is expected to report its findings after the Sept. 20 election runoff.

A source at police headquarters said from the questioning of David, Jerry, and Putra, the police had identified the roles played by more senior executives of the U.S. majority-owned mining firm.

"David, Jerry and Putra told the investigators that they submitted regular reports to their superiors about the disposal of tailings. We will keep investigating to find the person who is primarily responsible," he said.

All of the suspects have been charged under article 41 of the Environment Law (No. 23/1997) for causing pollution.

Under this article, an individual who is found guilty of deliberately contaminating the environment faces up to 10 years in prison or 15 years if the pollution causes illness or fatalities.

Suharto said the police were now trying to establish the true relationship between David and his superiors, and find evidence that would enable them to charge Newmont with a corporate crime as provided for by article 46 of the law.