South Korean defendant denies workers' testimony

JAKARTA (JP): The defendant in the trial of the Grogol flyover accident denied he told workers to remove bracings supporting a section of the construction.

"I came to the location at around 8:20 a.m. (and, before the accident) angrily shouted, 'Who ordered the bracings to be removed?'", LBW, the South Korean defendant said yesterday through his translator.

LBW made the statement at West Jakarta District Court following testimony from the fifth and final witness scheduled for the day. The witnesses were workers from PT Hanbo Bumi Karsa, the South Korean and Indonesian contractor that built the flyover.

LBW also denied the testimonies of witnesses who told the court he directly ordered them to set up the bracings again prior to the accident. He said he addressed the order to supervisor Mansyur.

At the time of the March 22 accident, LBW was deputy general manager and superintendent of the company.

LBW is being charged with negligence which led to the collapse of 30 meters of the overpass. Three workers were killed and 17 were injured in the accident.

Police said earlier the dossier of the other suspect, LBW's superior, KHW, has not yet been received by the prosecutor.

Meanwhile, the witnesses at yesterday's session of the trial, presided over by Judge M. Suleman, denied certain parts of the testimonies they had given to police.

One said he forgot several parts, though none said they were pressured during the time they were questioned.

The first witness of yesterday's session Sudarsono, a foreman, denied having said he saw around 100 bracings missing before the accident.

"Some were missing, but I did not count them," Sudarsono said.

He said he had only received a report from a security guard, Rasdi, that the condition of the construction looked dangerous. Sudarsono said he immediately reported this to LBW. However, LBW later told the court he did not receive such a report from Sudarsono.

Confusion and laughter filled the court room when second witness Dapi bin Otong took the stand. Compared to the others, the 19-year-old had the most difficulty in understanding questions from the panel of three judges, prosecutor Sidik Latuconsina and lawyer Prastowo.

Dapi, whose brother Wandi was among the three killed men, said he forgot many parts of his testimony to the police.

Ilyas bin Sidik, another worker in charge of wood works at the project, which involved the placement of wooden planks and beams to aid in overpass construction, said "around 50 percent" of the bracings were missing before the accident.

However, he denied telling the police it was LBW who ordered the removal of the bracings. He said it was his foreman, Sarim, who gave the instruction.

During an earlier hearing, LBW questioned Sarim's testimony in regard to the time he gave the order. However, he did not deny giving the order.

All the witnesses said it was the first time in their work experience that bracings were removed in such a short time, only four days after the pouring of the concrete. They said it usually took two to three weeks.

The next trial session, during which testimonies will be heard from five other workers, will be held next week.

The remaining witnesses from a total of 34 will include representatives of the other parties involved in the project: The Ministry of Public Works and the project's consultants. Consultants include the Japan-based PCI & Yec, PT Bandung Industrial Engineering Consultant and PT Indec. (anr)