Swedish Volvo director attacked

Sari P. Setiogi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Three suspects were arrested by the Balikpapan Police for allegedly attacking a Swedish man with spears during a negotiation with some of his employees in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan.

The three -- Rendy Ismael, who allegedly was the attacker, Daud Bauk and Djamri -- were nabbed last Friday and are currently under police detention.

Michael Ollson -- a member of the board of directors of PT Eka Dharma, the truck supplier of the Sweden-based automotive manufacturer Volvo -- suffered three stab wounds to his back and also three slash wounds to his head and shoulder during the attack last Thursday at around 7:30 p.m. local time or 6:30 p.m. Jakarta time.

Ollson is now in Jakarta and plans to return to Sweden soon.

"We are now investigating three more suspects, who might also be involved in the attack," Balikpapan Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Kodirun Karya told The Jakarta Post by phone on Thursday.

The incident began when 31 employees, who were facing dismissal, demanded the dismissal of eight members of the management without any justifiable reason.

"The eight employees have committed no mistake at all, therefore the company has no reason to dismiss them, and neither does the Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration," said eyewitness Yudhi Irawan, spokesman for Shields Indonesia which is the security service consultant for PT Eka Dharma.

The 31 employees later demanded Rp 10 billion (US$1.2 million) in compensation. The demand was turned down as it was irrational, Yudhi said.

He also said that the police were slow to act even though Shields Indonesia had reported the possibility of an attack.

"We had asked assistance from the police two days before the incident, but they still arrived late at the scene," Yudhi said.

Kodirun refuted the statement saying that he had deployed 12 intelligence officers and police personnel. He even asserted that it was Shields Indonesia that had been uncooperative with the police.

"We offered to deploy several officers at the company a day before the attack but their security officers stopped us at the front gate, saying that it was only an internal problem," he said. However, Kodirun said the situation was under control.

According to Yudhi, the case has drawn serious attention from the Swedish Ambassador to Indonesia and also the Swedish government.

Volvo is even considering closing PT Eka Dharma for security reasons and also reconsidering its plan to invest some US$30 million in Balikpapan.