Police name project supervisor as suspect in bridge collapse

Police name project supervisor as suspect in bridge collapse

Indra Harsaputra, Surabaya

East Java Provincial Police have named as a suspect Karto Sujono,
a project supervisor, for negligence in the collapse of six
concrete slabs at the Suramadu bridge construction site recently.

The accident claimed the lives of a construction worker and
injured seven others.

Sr. Comr. Sutarman, the East Java Provincial Police's chief of
detectives, said that the project supervisor was being charged as
he had ignored warnings from a number of witnesses during the
installing of the concrete slabs.

"Before the concrete slabs collapsed, several witnesses warned
him to stop the work as a hydraulic jack was not functioning
properly," said the detective.

Karto, who is also an executive of construction company CV
Citra Jala Sutra, stands accused of violating Article 359 of the
Criminal Code, which carries a maximum sentence of four years in
jail.

The accident took place on Tuesday afternoon as workers were
trying to position the sixth slab into place. However, it appears
it was not installed properly with the result that it fell and
toppled the other five slabs in a chain reaction.

A preliminary probe by the Ministry of Settlement and Regional
Infrastructure concluded that the accident was due to human
error.

The police are also looking into irregularities in the case
following a finding that part of the bridge should be supported
by 35 masts, but is in fact only supported by 27 masts.

Besides Karto Sujono, the police will also question others
working on the project, including deputy supervisor Bambang
Warsito and six other witnesses.

The construction of the 5,438-meter-long bridge, which when
fully built will be the longest in Indonesia, only started last
week, and it is expected to be completed either in 2006 or 2007.

The bridge connects Surabaya and Madura island, both of which
are in East Java province.