Woman Files Lawsuit after Getting Trapped in Floodwater
22 February 2017 12:52 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Kartika Dewi, a woman who got stuck in her car during the flood that hit Cikunir 4 Toll Road in the city of Bekasi, will file a citizen lawsuit against state-owned toll road operator PT Jasa Marga, its subsidiary PT Jalan Tol Lingkar Luar Jakarta, the Public Works and Public Housing Ministry, the State-Owned Enterprises Ministry and the Indonesia Toll Road Authority (BPJT).
“A lawsuit is likely to be filed in the Central Jakarta District Court at 11 am [Jakarta time],” Kartika Dewi’s lawyer David Tobing said on Wednesday morning.
David noted that his client would file a citizen lawsuit over the lack of information about the flood in Cikunir 4 exit gate. Dewi’s car was trapped at an underpass yesterday. “No warning was issued. Even though the scene was only 100 meters away from the toll gate,” he said.
According to David, the lawsuit was not only about any losses incurred. He expressed that the most important thing is for the defendants to implement a system to inform toll road users about flood-prone areas.
In the lawsuit, Dewi will demand the defendants to provide pumps, CCTVs, adequate lighting, rescue teams, ambulances and cranes 24 hours a day. “She [Dewi] tried to save herself for an hour; only then were patrol personnel [came] to take her home,” David said.
David said that PT Jasa Marga and PT Jalan Tol Lingkar Luar Jakarta did not inform his client about the flooding and failed to evacuate her despite the request from Dewi’s parent who came to Jati Asih toll gate by motorcycle to report the incident.
Yesterday, Dewi drove her husband to Halim Perdanakusumah Airport in East Jakarta at around 4:50 am local time. Dewi went home through the outer ring road and took an exit at Cikunir 4 toll gate amid heavy rain.
A road section located a hundred meters away from the toll gate was inundated by flood waters. The 23-year-old woman could not estimate the depth of the waters, yet she forced her way through the waters.
Her car stalled in the underpass shortly afterward. Dewi’s parent said that Dewi tried to save herself while waiting for rescue.
She broke the windshield and managed to get out of the vehicle. The water was as high as her neck. Dewi asked for help from passers-by but was ignored.
FRISKI RIANA
