Polluters gets one year in jail

JAKARTA: A court in North Sumatra sentenced two senior officials of battery producer PT Everbright to one year in prison and fined them Rp 100 million (US$11,000) each for pollution.

The Office of the State Minister for the Environment said in a statement on Thursday that PT Everbright director Sumito and factory manager K. Darsono Halim had been convicted of releasing toxic waste from the company into the Krio River.

"It is a victory against those who pollute the environment, although the sentence was well below what the prosecutor was demanding," the assistant deputy for law enforcement at the state minister's office, Sudarsono, said.

Prosecutors had been seeking four-year prison sentences and Rp 300 million fines for the two defendants.

Sudarsono said his office would continue to take legal action against those who pollute the environment. --JP