Tomy and 'Tempo' again asked to settle

Tomy and 'Tempo' again asked to settle

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A panel of judges at the Central Jakarta District Court asked for
a second time lawyers of businessman Tomy Winata and Tempo media
group to settle the former's libel suit against journalist Ahmad
Taufik and media company PT Tempo Inti Media outside the court.

"We will give you another seven days. The hearing is adjourned
until July 14," Presiding Judge Iskandar Tjake told the court.

Previously, both conflicting parties had been given 10 days to
settle the case amicably.

"But all our efforts failed," said one of Tomy's lawyers, Hadi
Sukrisno.

His statement was soon rebutted by Tempo's lawyer Firman
Wijaya, who claimed that they had not been invited to settle the
case out of court.

The businessman demanded a total of Rp 120 billion (US$14.6
million) in damages for libel which the lawyers said had
inflicted at least Rp 40 billion in material losses and another
Rp 80 billion in nonmaterial losses.

The lawsuit is based on Taufik's account of an attack on
Tempo's office and journalists by Tomy's men, which took place on
March 8. Taufik closed his statement by saying that Tomy owned
entertainment spots and gambling dens.

The statement was widely distributed over the Internet and was
run by news portal Detikcom on March 12.