PT Metromini pledges to pay compensation for fatalities

JAKARTA (JP): PT Metromini promised yesterday that it would compensate relatives of two people killed by a bus plying the Senen-Tanjung Priok route on Sunday.

Operations manager Maninting Panjaitan said the company would also offer compensation to the owners of the two roadside houses badly damaged in the accident in which a third person was seriously injured.

The accident occurred in Sunter Jaya, North Jakarta, at about 5:30 a.m. Angry local residents set fire to two Metromini buses, including the bus involved in the accident, in revenge. The driver of the bus which killed the two people abandoned the vehicle fearing mob retribution.

The company has stopped operating along the route after a threat from local residents to burn any Metromini U-24 buses in the area unless the company's management provide compensation for the accident.

The company hopes to resume operating on the route in the near future after an agreement is reached with the victims or their relatives.

Panjaitan said the company has collected money from bus owners in the franchise and will use this to compensate the surviving victims and relatives of the dead.

"A few days ago we had workmen evaluate the extend of damage inflicted on the houses. We will use this to determine the extent of compensation," Antara quoted him as saying.

Company managers plan to meet with community leaders in the Sunter Jaya neighborhood to try to break the impasse.

Panjaitan said the driver of the bus fled the scene of the accident because he felt threatened by the furious mob that had gathered and not because he wanted to wash his hands of the incident. He added that the driver had turned himself into the police on the advice of company management.

"Many drivers involved in accidents flee the scene because they fear mob attack. They have no security guarantees in that situation," he said.

"We don't have any intention of shirking responsibility," he added.

The suspension of the Metromini U-24 service has created financial problems for drivers on the route.

"The drivers are complaining of mounting debts because they have no other source of income," Panjaitan said.

B. Panjaitan (no relation), a U-24 driver living on Jl. RE Martadinata with his wife and son, said his financial problem worsened every day.

"Even if I work, my income is barely enough to make the ends meet," he said. (pan)