(Courtesy of streetdirectory.com)

PT Iwatani Industrial Gas Indonesia, two employees of which have been named suspects in relation to a blaze at a PT Mandom Indonesia cosmetic factory that claimed 28 lives, said on Friday that its employees were innocent of any wrongdoing.

TM Luthfi Yazid, attorney for Iwatani, said that suspicion surrounding the employee with initials AH was baseless. "We stand by our belief that our client's scope of work did not include the flexible hose that police say caused the blaze at Mandom," Luthfi told thejakartapost.com over the telephone on Friday.

AH is a supervisor at Iwatani, a company contracted by Mandom to fix its gas systems. He was named a suspect by the Jakarta Police on Tuesday, along with T, a Japanese national who served as a general manager at Iwatani.

Luthfi said that Iwatani's duties included removing two old tanks and installing and connecting up a new tank. After the job, he said, both parties had tested the nitrogen set up and declared it '€œgood and without any leaks". Iwatani had also meticulously checked the pipes using X-ray testing, Luthfi said.

The company reported on their work and handed the system over to Mandom after the installation.

Luthfi added that the pipe installation fixed by Iwatani had been installed safely three months and 10 days earlier, when Mandom had commenced operations, causing no gas-related problems before the fire. "Is it true the flexible hose is the cause of the blaze? Have the operators at Mandom conducted their jobs in accordance with standard procedure by doing routine check-ups? If not, would the blaze have happened?" Luthfi asked.

The Jakarta Police have said that Mandom, which recently moved its plant from Sunter, North Jakarta, to Bekasi in April, assigned Iwatani to install eight new flexible tubes in the aerosol production area, however AH, based on T's order, only installed four new tubes and replaced the other four with old tubes.

T returned to Japan in April and is no longer a general manager at Iwatani.

Luthfi said that Iwatani provides safety training to its clients for free. "This shows that [Iwatani] really pays attention to the work safety of its customers," Luthfi said.

According to its official website, Iwatani Industrial Gas Indonesia is a joint venture company of the Japan-based Iwatani Corporation and Singapore-based Iwatani Industrial Gas Pte that provides gas for domestic consumers.

Luthfi said the company had sent its sincerest condolences to the victims'€™ families. However, the company also urged the police to run a thorough, transparent and professional investigation into the incident that claimed 28 lives.

"Iwatani is an international company that has an [excellent] international reputation ... The fact is, in 18 years of operation in Indonesia, the company has never had any accidents," Luthfi said, adding that the company would cooperate with police regarding scientific and technical information relating to the case.

He added that the company is considering taking legal action against parties that damage the its name. (rin)(++++)

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