Rift with developer reported to council

TANGERANG (JP): Thirty-two people claiming to be heirs of a man named Tan Hok Tjioe sought assistance from the regency council yesterday regarding a 75-hectare plot.

The plot, located in Cihuni village in Legok district, is now under the control of a private developer, PT Jakarta Baru Cosmopolitan.

The plot is part of a golf resort and housing complex, Gading Serpong, which is currently under construction.

A lawyer for the alleged heirs, Taufik Hais, told commission A in charge of land affairs that a legal decision on dividing the plot among the heirs was issued on July 12, 1940.

However, from the war for independence up until after 1945, the decision could not be executed. The plot was under the custody of the Ministry of Justice until 1990. The division of the land was only possible this year when the Tangerang District Court issued a decision on the request of the heirs' lawyers.

It is not known how the plot came under the control of the private developer. Commission A, chaired by Risalah Mastjek, said it would help to trace the rightful ownership. (18/anr)