'Tempo' loses other battle with Tomy

M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

In an apparent sidelining of the Press Law, the Central Jakarta District Court on Thursday ruled Tempo magazine was guilty of defaming businessman Tomy Winata in an article published in March last year.

The panel of judges ordered the magazine's management to pay Rp 500 million (US$58,000) in damages to the plaintiff and to run a public apology in three national media plus the weekly over three consecutive days or pay a fine of Rp 300,000 a day.

The money awarded is a far cry from the whopping Rp 200 billion in compensation sought by Tomy.

Tempo lawyer Todung Mulya Lubis immediately told the court the magazine would appeal the verdict.

"Press freedom has been defeated," Todung said after the verdict. Although the judges had said press freedom was not on trial, the verdict belied this, he said.

In their ruling, the judges said an individual had no obligation to use their right to respond to a publication. They ruled the opinion of the Press Council, which was called as an expert witness for the defense, would not affect their decision.

"Tempo's article titled Is There Tomy in Tenabang? mentioning Tomy Winata as a 'big scavenger' is libelous as it implied the plaintiff set the Tanah Abang textile market on fire in a bid make money from a planned renovation project," presiding judge Soedarjo said in the verdict.

The judges said Tempo had failed to produce evidence to substantiate its allegations about Tomy.

Soedarjo acquitted Tomy's associate, David Tjioe, in July last year from the charges of assaulting the journalists in a protest staged in the wake of the article's publication.

The Tempo article in question said Tomy had allegedly submitted a Rp 53 billion renovation proposal three months prior to the fire.

The Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) blasted the verdict, saying the judiciary had not used the Press Law No. 40/1999 to prosecute journalists. "The law enforcers should have applied the Press Law in all media-related cases," AJI chairman Eddy Suprapto said.

Press Council member Sabam Leo Batubara said the ruling would further deter the press from reporting on sensitive issues. "If the court enforces the Criminal Code per se, then all suspicions raised by the press could be classified as libel."

In January, Koran Tempo daily lost another defamation case filed by Tomy at the South Jakarta District Court. The court ordered the daily pay US$1 million in damages. It has yet to pay the compensation, pending the outcome of its appeal.