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.