I

nvestigations of libel by the Jakarta Police create havoc in the lives of defendants if they wind up in court. Drawn-out investigations and confusion surrounding the contentious use of defamation laws need to be remedied, says a defamation lawyer.

Take Koh Seng Seng, also known as A seng, a shop owner who is being prosecuted in both the civil and criminal courts for separate charges relating to one libel case.

For the past three years, he has endured a legal battle, ever since PT Duta Pertiwi, a real estate company known for their line of ITC shopping centers (of which he was once a tenant), reported him for libel in late 2006.

Duta Pertiwi sued him for defaming the company after he wrote letters in the media about the company's alleged deception of shop owners in regard to land taxes. He lost the civil case trial late last year, when the North Jakarta District Court ordered him to pay PT Duta Pertiwi Rp 1 billion (US$98,000). He is now going through a trial in the East Jakarta District Court, and faces two years in prison for the criminal libel charges.

Sholeh Ali, A seng's lawyer, has filed an appeal on the civil trial verdict, saying the judges had skewed the legal process by not allowing A seng to take the witness stand. Furthermore, Ali said, a similar case involving the same plaintiff saw judges siding with the defendant, Kwee Meng Luan, also known as Winny.

"These two opposing verdicts show that even judges have no clue about applying libel laws," he said.

Take the case of Fifi Tanang, who spent 18 months in probation for defaming Duta Pertiwi for sending similar letters to the media.

Ali, who is also the chief of the litigation division at the Jakarta Legal Aid Foundation, said libel laws and the way they were currently used, made them prone to abuse.

"Especially by people with money, who have vested interests in keeping the public blind to their faults and can afford to go through long legal battles," he said.

He said the public's crutch depends on law enforcers, though he doubted their commitment to defending the regular public.

In response, Jakarta Police spokesman, Adj. Sr. Comr. Chrysnanda, denied accusations. "It is not about whether we should be more selective when handling libel cases. The point is that people have the right to work peacefully and slander could ruin that," he said.

"The police have always urged parties to communicate first and foremost before taking legal actions, but people are people, and they have channels to protect their rights. The libel law is just one of them."

Currently, the pendulum seems to be swinging the other way with the Omni International Hospital versus Prita Mulyasari case, which received so much public and political support that other hospital patients have begun filing similar complaints.

On Monday, a civil lawsuit in which Omni hospital sued a patient for not paying their fees, was turned down by judges who called the hospital irresponsible.

Even A seng, has drawn hope from Prita's case.