Sandjaja declared bankrupt

JAKARTA (JP): The Jakarta Commercial Court has issued a bankruptcy verdict on ceramic maker PT Sandjaja Graha Sarana for failure to pay a debt amounting to US$1.92 million.

The plaintiff's lawyer said Tuesday the company's owner, Tjokro Sandjaja, who served as guarantor of the debt, was also declared bankrupt by the court.

Rahmat Bastian of Dermawan & Co. Law Firm said on Tuesday the defendant and the lawyer never attended court even when the verdict was issued last week.

"The owner Tjokro Sandjaja might have fled the country to secure his personal wealth," Rahmat said.

The plaintiff, Credit Lyonnais Indonesia, filed a bankruptcy suit against the ceramic maker in early May on the latter's failure to settle a debt which matured on Dec. 7, 1998.

The 1998 Bankruptcy Law stipulates that a bankruptcy claim can be filed against a party as a business entity and/or as an individual person, as long as the claimed party has at least two creditors and one matured debt. (udi)