A European-based tour operator reported a local businessman to the police for allegedly committing violence at a resort following a dispute over a breach of a business contract.
Made Kadek Wiranatha, the owner of Breezes Resort and Spa in Seminyak, was reported by PT Mountbatten Resort International (MRI) in December for forcibly evicting workers at the resort.
MRI's legal representatives, Roesmanhadi and Associates, said Wiranatha had ordered 100 people to come to the resort to evict MRI's managers and forbid them from returning. "We call on Made Kadek Wiranatha to respect the law and stop using violence to settle contract disputes," Edi Kurniawan, from the legal team, said.
"Business quarrels should be settled in court instead of using violence. Such actions only taint Bali's reputation as an investment destination, especially in the hospitality industry," he said.
Wiranatha is a well-known business player in the tourist industry as he owns several Bali entertainment landmarks, such as Ku De Ta, Bacio, and Gado Gado, as well as the Bali Advertiser and the now-defunct Air Paradise International.
Lawyers said that on Dec. 19, 100 people came to the resort on behalf of Wiranatha.
The crowd forced three MRI managers to vacate their offices. One of the evicted managers filed a police report the same day.
Following an investigation, the police sealed off several sections of the 130-room resort and seized documents related to the contract dispute.
According to MRI's legal team, the dispute between its client and Wiranatha flared up when Wiranatha failed to obey the eight-year contract signed by the two parties on Aug. 14, 2008.
Under the contract, Wiranatha agreed to lease the resort to MRI for eight years, and was extendable for the next five years.
The contract stipulated that Wiranatha had the rights to sell the resort to a third party by Sept. 1, 2009.
If he did not sell the property by the due date, MRI would be entitled to purchase it for US$10 million, the legal team said.
As Wiranatha did not sell his resort by the due date, MRI informed him it would exercise its right to buy the property on Oct. 7, the team said.
However, on Nov. 6, Wiranatha's lawyer sent a letter to MRI saying that his client disagreed with the company's interpretation of the agreement and on Dec. 19, ordered 100 security officers to evict the three managers.
Wiranatha denied the allegations of violence, saying he merely exercised his rights to ask MRI to leave the resort since they omitted their obligation to pay the lease fee for four consecutive months.
He did not comment on the eviction incident.
"MRI violated the contract because the company did not pay the lease fee for four months. I sent three notification letters, but the company paid no attention," Wiranatha told The Jakarta Post.
He denied that the contract included a deal in which the company could purchase the property, saying that the company could only lease.
"It was a contract purely for leasing. No one had the right to force anyone else to sell their property," he said.
