http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailheadlines.asp?fileid=20040922.A03&irec=5
Newmont president director named suspect in Buyat case
Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
After grilling four Newmont employees, police declared
on Tuesday Richard
Ness, president director of PT Newmont Minahasa Raya,
a suspect in the
pollution of Buyat Bay in Minahasa, North Sulawesi.
The authorities also asked the immigration office to
prevent Ness and five
other suspects from leaving the country.
National Police director of specific crimes Brig. Gen.
Suharto said the
police had summoned Ness, an American, to go the
police headquarters on
Thursday to explain the company's disposal policies.
"We summoned him as a suspect because as Newmont's top
officers he is
responsible for his company's actions. We expect him
to come on Thursday,"
Suharto said.
Newmont confirmed later Tuesday that the summons had
been received and that
the company would cooperate fully with police
investigators.
"PT NMR's employees have made themselves available and
are cooperating with
the police. The president director is no different and
I am happy to help
the police investigation in anyway I can," Ness told
The Jakarta Post
through a short messaging service (SMS).
Police earlier named five Newmont officers suspects in
the case: site
manager Bill Long, maintenance and production manager
Phil Turner, external
relations manager David Sompie, superintendent for the
environment Jerry
Kojansow and superintendent for waste processing Putra
Wijayantri.
All have been questioned except Long, who is scheduled
to be grilled on
Wednesday.
Suharto said the police would charge Ness under
Article 46 of Law No.
23/1997 on environmental pollution conducted by a
corporation.
The article stipulates that the top officer must be
held responsible for a
company's misconduct.
Under the law, an individual who knowingly damages the
environment is
liable to 10 years in prison, while if his/her actions
cause harm to humans
he/she could face 15 years in prison.
He also said the police were trying to find solid
evidence to charge the
company with a corporate crime.
None of the suspects have been detained as, according
to the police, they
were cooperating fully with investigators.
The police forensic laboratory found that heavy metals
in Buyat Bay
exceeded the safety levels set by the Office of the
Minister of the
Environment.
Newmont has repeatedly challenged the report, saying
that at least three
independent laboratories concluded that the bay was
not polluted because
the heavy metal content was far below government
limits.
The government formed last month a joint team
comprising officials from the
Office of the Minister of the Environment, the
Ministry of Health and the
police to take more samples from the bay. The team is
expected to announce
its results soon after the election.
Suharto also said the police had submitted a letter to
President Megawati
Soekarnoputri advising her that they wished to
question State Minister of
the Environment Nabiel Makarim as a witness in the
case.
"We will question him soon because according to law we
only need to notify
the President that we want to question a minister, and
after submitting a
letter, we can go ahead with the questioning," he
said.
Suharto explained that police needed Nabiel's
explanation on whether
Newmont had complied with environmental regulations.
Ness has 20 years management involvement in over US$5
billion of investment
in Indonesia. He has been active as Governor of the
American Chamber of
Commerce in Indonesia and Mining Committee Chair and
Mining Association
Director.
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