Three named suspects in collapsed showroom case
Evi Mariani, Jakarta
Police have detained two of three suspects over the collapse of a furniture showroom in Sunter Agung, North Jakarta, for allegedly violating Article 359 of the Criminal Code on death caused by negligence.
Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Prasetyo said on Thursday the police had named the owner of the showroom Prem L. Bharwani, the head of the construction project, Raharja Mukti, and construction consultant Hendra Gunawan as suspects in the case. Both Raharja and Hendra are being held at the North Jakarta Police detention center.
"We are yet to question Bharwani as he is now in Singapore," Prasetyo said.
Police investigation into Monday's fatal accident, that claimed six lives (not nine as mentioned earlier), revealed it had allegedly been caused by the construction management's decision to "save time and money".
In dossiers, the police stated that based on information from the two suspects, project officers had ordered the workers to start work on the third story, while the columns that supported that floor were yet to be assessed by the supervisor.
When the columns collapsed, dozens of workers on the second floor were trapped for hours under debris, while some managed to free themselves straightaway.
For more than 24 hours, a joint team of volunteers and North Jakarta firefighters tried to evacuate the victims.
The latest police report states that six workers died, contrary to their previous report of nine. The fatalities were identified as Sukar, 31; Seger, 28; Fatoni, 45; Atam, 22; Elon, 22; and Ifan Pancarana, 20.
Police claimed they had released the wrong figure as they had counted some of the workers twice, due to the fact that they had aliases.
The accident in Sunter is the second major fatal accident at a construction site this month. On May 3, three construction workers died when a crane collapsed at the Sudirman Central Business District (SCBD) Suites apartment in South Jakarta.
Police have detained three suspects over the SCBD accident.