'Tempo' loses other battle with Tomy

'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.