Court orders shop owner to pay Rp 1b for defamation

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Wed, 05/07/2008 9:42 AM  |  City

The North Jakarta District Court ordered a shop owner at ITC Mangga Dua shopping center to pay Rp 1 billion (US$109,000) in compensation to building developer PT Duta Pertiwi after finding him guilty of defamation Tuesday.

Presiding judge Nelson Samosir said Khoe Seng Seng had damaged the developer's reputation through his protest letters that were published by some national newspapers between September and November 2006.

In his letters, he accused the company of cheating buyers of ITC Mangga Dua apartments and shops. He claimed the company did not inform buyers the land belonged to the city administration.

"The panel of judges orders the accused to pay Rp 1 billion in compensation to the plaintiff," Nelson said while delivering the verdict.

He said the amount was fair considering PT Duta Pertiwi was a company with a good reputation.

The plaintiff had earlier demanded Rp 17 billion in compensation.

Khoe's lawyer, Hendrayana, from the Legal Aid Institute for the Press, said the court's decision threatened freedom of expression.

"Today is another gloomy day for freedom of the press in Indonesia. We will definitely appeal," he said, adding it was not clear how the judges decided the amount of compensation.

In December 2007, the company filed defamation lawsuits against owners of ITC Mangga Dua apartments and shops. The owners made the same accusations as Khoe and sent protest letters to newspapers.

According to the buyers, they discovered in 2006 their properties in the ITC building were built on land owned by the city administration, not the developer. The administration had only awarded the company permission to manage the land.

The tenants now risk losing their properties and their ownership titles if the administration decides to take over the land.

The company was also sued by owners of Mangga Dua Court Apartments at the Central Jakarta District Court for similar property title problems.

In one of the cases the court ruled the company, its director and the notary public had concealed information about land ownership. The court ordered the defendants to pay the administration fee needed to renew the certificates.

The developer's lawyer, Zulfahmi Harahap, said his client would also appeal in the case.

"The tenants are buying the property from other people, not directly from Duta Pertiwi. The company never hides the information and is not responsible for any information a third party has told them," the lawyer told reporters.

A year earlier, 14 shop owners at the ITC Roxi Mas trade center in Central Jakarta also sued the company for illegally claiming the property's title rights.

In that case, the company registered the land with the National Land Agency under its name without notifying the tenants. (uwi)

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