Repairs recommended for old court building
Repairs recommended for old court building
JAKARTA (JP): The city administration will not prosecute the
finance ministry, the owner of the former Supreme Court building
on Jl. Lapangan Banteng Timur in Central Jakarta, for its failure
to prevent damage to the rear of the protected building, an
official said on Friday.
Head of the city's restoration council Wisnu Murti Ardjo said
the team had recommended a "win-win solution" to settle the
problem.
"We require the owner of the building to repair the damaged
parts.
"We should compromise because it would be impossible to
instruct the Ministry of Finance to halt the work as the new
construction has been erected," he told The Jakarta Post.
He said the decision not to prosecute to settle the problem
was made in a meeting between finance ministry officials and the
city restoration council at the Nyi Ageng Serang building on Jl.
H.R. Rasuna Said in South Jakarta on Wednesday.
Wisnu reluctantly confirmed that the punishment for
demolishing an old and protected building like the former Supreme
Court was a maximum of 10 years imprisonment or a Rp 100 million
(US$14,285) fine. The sentence is stipulated in Law No. 5/1992 on
Heritage.
"Implementing the law is the most ideal thing to do, but what
is important is that the owner repairs the damaged parts. I think
it is much better that the case is solved out of court," he said,
refusing to elaborate further.
The team's decision was contrary to a previous statement by
Central Jakarta Mayor Andi Subur Abdullah that he would take
legal action against the ministry.
The construction of the finance ministry's four-story budget
directorate general building damaged the rear of the former
Supreme Court, which was built in 1848 (not 1828 as previously
reported).
The case attracted media attention, which increased after it
was found that the new construction lacked a building permit.
Regarding the ministry's failure to obtain a building
construction permit (IMB), Wisnu said the team had recommended
that the planner, the developer and the owner be punished
according to the existing regulations.
Contacted separately, old building expert Grace Pamungkas said
she was concerned about the team's decision to go through an out-
of-court settlement.
"It's ironic. They should, actually, enforce the existing
laws.
"It is another example that there has been no improvement in
handling cases concerning the destruction of old buildings in the
capital," she said.
She said it was a good moment for all related institutions to
uphold the law, as the wrongdoing in this case was obvious, and
regretted that by compromising in this way the city
administration remained "singing the same old song". (ind)