Teenager faces trial over Bojong dump clash

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.