TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Khoe Seng Seng, the writer of readers’ letter that was sued by PT Duta Pertiwi from Sinar Mas Group, will be brought to North Jakarta District Court on Thursday. "I will go to the court to face a punishment of a Rp 1 billion fine," said Seng Seng when contacted by Tempo on Wednesday.
Seng Seng wrote a readers' letter to Suara Pembaruan and Kompas in 2006 on the obscurity of the status of his kiosk purchased from ITC Mangga Dua North Jakarta. PT. Duta Pertiwi is the developer of the kiosk.
In a meeting that will take place at 09.00, he said, the District Court will order him as a defendant to pay Rp 1 billion in cash to the plaintiff, which is PT. Duta Pertiwi. "I could not afford paying by cash, so most likely the court will take away my wealth," said Seng Seng.
Seng Seng stated he refuses to pay, because he feels disadvantaged by the decision of the Supreme Court that he views as biased. "The Supreme Court did not listen to my complaints, they only listened to PT. Duta Pertiwi's," he said.
However, he continued, if he would still have to pay, he would request to pay in installments. "Rp 300 thousand per month," he said.
In his letter, Seng Seng complained about his land’s status that was offered as Building Use Rights (HGB), but turned out only to be admitted as Right to Manage (HPL) by Jakarta Provincial Government.
Because of the letter, PT. Duta Pertiwi reported Seng Seng and a number of his partners that also wrote a readers’ letter under a charge of defamation.
Consequently, Seng Seng was charged both by criminal and civil law. The criminal suit was submitted to the East Jakarta District Court, while the civil suit was submitted to the North Jakarta District Court.
According to criminal law, Seng Seng was initially charged as guilty and would be punished in jail for 6 months with an experiment time of 1 year. However, after appealing to Jakarta High court, Seng Seng was released from criminal charges because he was seen as innocent.
Meanwhile, according to the civil charges pressed against him, Seng Seng is obliged to pay a fine of Rp 1 billion after his case was transferred to the Supreme Court.
RENLY JAMES YOSUA
