Police renew Buyat Bay case files
Police renew Buyat Bay case files
Tony Hotland, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Police are finalizing the case files of six executives of mining
firm PT Newmont Minahasa Raya before returning them to
prosecutors, hoping that the files will be accepted as sufficient
evidence to take the six to court.
National Police chief of detectives Comr. Gen. Suyitno Landung
said on Thursday the police had provided nearly all items that
had been missing from the case files, which had been returned by
the North Sulawesi Prosecutor's Office on Oct. 20, due to a lack
of data and documents.
"We hope to resubmit the dossiers before the detention period
of the executives expires on Nov. 21. We're still waiting for the
results of tests on uncontaminated seawater and fresh water, and
our team is scheduled to return here today (Thursday) from North
Sulawesi," said Suyitno.
He said the renewed dossiers contained 39 items that had been
demanded by the prosecutors, including an explanation of the
validity of the methodology and samples the police had used in
their tests, which concluded that Buyat Bay in North Sulawesi was
heavily polluted.
Suyitno would not provide details of the scientific
explanation demanded by the prosecutors.
The police are blaming the United States-run mining company
for the contamination of the bay, into which Newmont had been
dumping its tailings since 1996.
Unlike the tests conducted by several local and international
organizations, the police's laboratory found the level of heavy
metals in the bay exceeded the safety levels set by the Office of
the State Minister for the Environment.
Five of the six Newmont executives were detained on Sept. 23
after being declared suspects. The police later released them and
put them under city arrest as their assistance was needed --
including in a reclamation project at the former mine -- as the
company had recently ceased to operate in the area.
The police charged them with violating Law No. 23/1997 on
environmental management for deliberately contaminating the bay
and held them responsible for the crime, both as individuals and
as a corporation.
Suyitno said the police would coordinate with prosecutors to
speed up the filing process and to bring the suspects to trial,
so as to prevent them from fleeing.
"We don't want what happened with Adrian (Waworuntu) to happen
again. We're trying as hard as we can in investigating the case,
but the prosecutors must also share this spirit," he said.
Adrian Waworuntu is the main suspect in a Rp 1.7 trillion
lending scam at state-owned BNI. Police were unable to extend his
120-day detention period as his case file was never declared
complete by prosecutors. He fled the country, but surrendered
last month.
Suyitno said the police would enclose the latest report of a
government-sanctioned joint team on the bay as supporting data in
the case files.
The team, consisting of representatives from the government,
non-governmental organizations, the police and Newmont, found the
bay was contaminated with high levels of arsenic, which had put
local people's health at risk.
But the government has delayed the announcement of the report,
pending verification by the Agency for the Assessment and
Application of Technology (BPPT).