Tenant tried for illegal occupancy

Urip Hudiono, Jakarta

A tenant standing trial on charges of illegally occupying a Pluit low-cost apartment was being victimized because of his role in an earlier protest against a rent-hike, his defense team said.

In a session on Monday at the North Jakarta District Court, the defense team of Niu Fatourus, alias Alay, said the charges leveled by apartment management company PT Jakarta Propertindo were baseless.

Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights Association lawyer Ecoline Situmorang told Judge Haryanto that Alay had always paid his rent ever since he moved into the apartment in 1998.

"He is still paying the rent now, as he and his family are still living there," she said.

The prosecution has charged Alay with violating Article 36 of Law No. 4/1992 on housing, for occupying a rented space without the consent of its owner. Alay could face a maximum sentence of two years' jail if found guilty.

Alay was recently convicted of damaging Propertindo's property during a residents' protest against a rent hike.

Ecoline said Alay had not leased his quarters directly from Propertindo but had initially leased it from a former tenant. When Alay tried to register the quarters under his name in 2001, however, the management requested a fee of up to Rp 6 million (US$ 666).

"Alay refused the request because he could not afford it. He was angry about the amount as the apartment was supposed to be for low-income families," she said.

The management then gave Alay a special dispensation, allowing him to stay in the apartment as long as he paid the rent.

"So why has Alay now suddenly been charged with illegal occupancy?" Ecoline said. "Is it because our client has always been active in fighting for the rights of low-income families to live in the apartment?"

Alay was sentenced to 10 months' jail last week for damaging management property during a clash in February between tenants who protested a rent hike and public order officers who were deployed to evict them. The court, however, dismissed charges that Alay had incited the clash.

Ecoline also questioned why Alay's case was being tried as a criminal one. Rent disputes should be filed as a civil lawsuits, he said.

The dispute between tenants and Propertindo started at the end of 2002, when the firm announced a 72 percent hike in rent prices for 2003. Some 480 families refused to pay the increase. Propertindo responded by cutting off the tenants' water and electricity and attempting to evict them.