Teenager faces trial over Bojong dump clash

Theresia Sufa, The Jakarta Post, Bogor

A 15-year-old student, Atang Ombak, stood trial at the Cibinong District Court on Monday. He was charged with violating Article 170 of the Criminal Code on violent behavior.

The trial was staged behind closed-doors since the defendant is underaged. Atang was accompanied by his parents and a counselor from the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights.

Lawyer Samsul Bahri requested that judge Edison free Atang due to his age. He also asked that the defendant be returned to his parents so he could continue his second year studies at junior high school.

Prosecutors Fien Ering said that Atang joined other residents on Nov. 22 at the Bojong waste treatment facility, opposing the plant operator PT Wira Guna Sejahtera (WGS) to a trial operation of the facility.

The residents feared that they would suffer health problems and environmental damage as happened at Jakarta's main dump Bantar Gebang in Bekasi municipality.

Atang and others residents damaged the security guard post, beating it with long bamboo sticks and throwing stones. PT WGS claimed it would need one month to repair the damages which would cost about Rp 8 billion (US$860,215).

Police officers later fired at the protesters, injuring six. Eighteen residents were arrested and tried, including Atang, for causing a disturbance, while six police officers only received administrative sanctions.

Dozens of others fled their homes soon after the bloody clash broke out, in fear that they would be arrested by the police.

The Bojong plant was designed for an alternative to the Bantar Gebang dump, which has been the city's main dump since 1986.

The administration had originally planned to use a German-made Bale press at the plant. However, WGS decided to install incinerators instead.