Pollution case implicates Singaporean

Pollution case implicates Singaporean

Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Police detectives said on Tuesday that they had declared a
Singaporean businessman, Lee Choon How, 58, a suspect in a
pollution case as his company PT Guru Indonesia, a printing firm
located in East Jakarta, had allegedly dumped hazardous waste
into the Cipinang river.

"Police have checked the location and took samples from
several places near the plant to be examined at the laboratory,"
said Comr. Ahmad Haydar, chief of the city police detectives for
environmental affairs.

At the location, police found that the company failed to
provide a waste water processing facility (IPAL), which is
required by the city.

"The facility, or IPAL, exists but it doesn't function," said
Haydar.

He said that police did not detain Lee, who is also the
company's general manager, as they needed time to obtain the
results of the laboratory test to prove whether or not the
company had polluted the river.

Her said the investigators had been on the case since May 7.

"Now, we are still waiting for the results of the laboratory
examination," he said.

Once the results are obtained, police will be ready to
dispatch the dossiers to the prosecutors, he said.

According to Haydar, Lee would be charged with the Law No. 23,
1997 on the environment article 43. It carries a maximum sentence
of five years in prison.