South Korean faces one year imprisonment

JAKARTA (JP): A prosecutor at the West Jakarta District Court demanded a one-year jail sentence for a construction superintendent.

Defendant Byung Woo Lee, 38, was found guilty of neglect which led to the death of three workers and the injury of five others on March 22 last year.

Prosecutor Sidik Latuconsina said the South Korean, deputy general manager and superintendent at PT Hanbo Bumi Karsa, was responsible for the collapse of part of the 500-ton Grogol ramp and overpass in West Jakarta.

The project's contractors were Hanbo General Contractors and PT Bumi Karsa, along with Indonesian and Japanese consultants and supervisors.

The defendant, Latuconsina said, "violated articles 359 and 360 of the Criminal Code" which carries a maximum sentence of five years' imprisonment.

Latuconsina said Byung deserved the sentence because "his carelessness cost lives", he said.

But he added that the defendant was polite and was not directly involved in the incident.

The sentence request in yesterday's session finally took place after being delayed 15 times.

Among reasons for delays were the defendant's illness, which lawyers said was a stroke and, more recently, shock. The absence of a translator and the prosecutor's absence were other reasons.

During yesterday's hearing, the defendant kept his head bent. When the prosecutor finished his request, the defendant looked upset and almost cried.

He repeatedly massaged his forehead.

According to the prosecutor, at 7:00 a.m. on March 22, workers started to remove cross bars supporting the structure of the semi-constructed overpass. At around 8:00 a.m. part of the ramp and overpass collapsed.

The defendant was not the one who ordered the removal of the cross bars, Latuconsina said.

However, "the fact that Byung did not know about it or who ordered it shows his lack of responsibility on the job," he said.

The trial was adjourned until July 3 to hear the defense. (12)