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).