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Company retracts suit against IPB expert
The plaintiff filed the withdrawal request during the first hearing of the case at the Cibinong District Court in Bogor, West Java, on Wednesday.
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An aerial picture of a palm-oil plantation in Dumai, Riau, on Aug. 9. (Antara Photo/Rony Muharrman)
P
alm oil company PT Jatim Jaya Perkasa (JJP) has withdrawn a lawsuit against Bogor Agricultural University (IPB) forestry expert Bambang Hero Saharjo, who once testified as an expert witness incriminating the company in a forest fire case.
The plaintiff filed the withdrawal request during the first hearing of the case at the Cibinong District Court in Bogor, West Java, on Wednesday, the court said.
“The plaintiff decided to withdraw the lawsuit,” Cibinong District Court spokesman Bambang Setyawan said on Friday, adding that the court would decide whether or not to grant the withdrawal in a hearing next week.
Neither Bambang Hero nor his lawyers attended the first hearing.
JJP director Halim Gozali cited the lack of documents to support the company arguments as the reason for the withdrawal, kontan.co.id reported.
JJP lawyer Didik Harsono, meanwhile, said that the company was considering to file a new lawsuit against Bambang Hero.
“The withdrawal aims to give us time to add necessary documents [to support our arguments],” Didik said as quoted by tribunnews.com. “Perhaps, we can file another lawsuit later.”
The lawsuit against Bambang Hero was filed in September, about three months after the Supreme Court found JJP guilty in a 2015 wildfire case in Riau and ordered it to pay Rp 491 billion (US$32 million) in restitution.
The lawsuit alleged that the IPB lecturer committed a wrongful act while testifying as an expert witness for the Environment and Forestry Ministry, demanding that he pay Rp 10 billion for material losses and Rp 500 billion in damages it suffered as a result of his testimony.
Environmentalists have decried the lawsuit as a case of retaliation and an attempt to intimidate expert witnesses.
