S. Koreans named suspects in overpass collapse

S. Koreans named suspects in overpass collapse

JAKARTA (JP): The West Jakarta police have named two
executives of the South Korean Hanbo General Contractors as the
responsible parties in the recent collapse of the Grogol overpass
which killed three workers and injured 18 others.

The two are Kim Hyun Woo and Lee Byung Woo, the general
superintendent of the company and the construction manager of the
project respectively, City Police spokesman Lt. Col. Iman
Haryatna said yesterday.

"They are believed to be the men most responsible for the
collapse of the overpass on March 22. It was because of their
negligence that the accident occurred," he said.

Iman said the police reached their conclusion after repeatedly
interrogating Kim and Lee and questioning 22 witnesses, including
injured workers, security officers and local executives of the
project.

If found guilty, the two will face a maximum prison term of
five years as stipulated in article 359 of the Criminal Code,
Iman said.

The two, whose citizenships and ages are still being withheld
by the police, have not been arrested yet.

"According to our existing law, it is not a must for police to
arrest them and there is no necessity for them to provide bail,"
Iman said.

Passports

The officer said the local police have taken the passports of
the two men.

"We guarantee that they won't be able to escape from this
country and we have asked the Jakarta Police to prohibit them
from leaving the city," West Jakarta Police Precinct Chief Lt.
Col. Hari Pribadi told The Jakarta Post yesterday.

The accident on the Grogol loop ramp project, occurred at
around 8 a.m. on March 22 when a 30-meter, 500-ton section caved
in and collapsed.

A team from the Ministry of Public Works which was assigned to
determine the cause of the accident has yet to publish its
findings.

However, many believe that the workers were assigned by their
supervisor to remove the stagers supporting the loop ramp several
days before the recommended date.

Officer Hari refused to explain which one the two contractor's
executives had assigned the workers to remove the stagers.

"All I can say is that these two men are the parties
responsible for the project," he said.

The project's contractors are Hanbo General Contractors and
the Indonesian PT Bumi Karsa, along with other consultants,
including Japan-based PCI & Yec and the Indonesian PT Bandung
Industrial Engineering Consultants (BIEC).

A few days after the accident, President Soeharto urged
everyone to learn from the collapse of the overpass to avoid
further acts of negligence. (bsr)