The Defendant In The AGO Building Fire Case Denies Smoking On The 6th Floor

JAKARTA - Two defendants in the fire case at the Attorney General's Office (AGO), Imam Sudrajat and Uti Abdul Munir, denied the indictment of the public prosecutor (JPU) about throwing cigarette stumps into plastic bags.

This statement was made when the two defendants who worked as repairmen in the renovation of the AGO building testified for the other four defendants, namely, Halim, Tarno, Karta, and Sahrul Karim.

Initially, the prosecutor questioned Imam Sudrajat about the activities of the four defendants before starting to work. Imam explained that they had smoked but it was not on the 6th floor of the AGO which was the source of the fire.

"After they finish smoking, they go to the workroom (area)," said Imam during a hearing at the South Jakarta District Court, Monday, March 8.

The prosecutor then asked about the waste from the work that had been disposed of. Imam said that the waste was removed by each of the defendants as part of his duties.

"Each worker (clears the rest of the work)," said Imam.

Meanwhile, Abdul Munir, who is the foreman of the renovation project at the AGO building, also said that the leftover waste from work was dumped by the internal office boy of the AGO building.

"Usually the workers clean it themselves, but they don't throw it away. Because the one who throws it away is OB," said Abdul Munir.

In this case, the prosecutor charged the six people with negligence that caused the Attorney General's building to catch fire on August 22, 2020. They were charged with Article 188 of the Criminal Code in conjunction with 55 paragraph 1-1 of the Criminal Code.

For negligence, the defendant Uti Abdul Munir as the project foreman was called by the prosecutor because he did not supervise the renovation work carried out by the masons. Meanwhile, five masons namely Imam Sudrajat, Halim, Tarno, Karta, and Sahrul Karim did multiple smoking while working.

The cigarette stumps that were the origin of the fire were previously carried out by the five defendants to the trash bin where the HPL cloth was dumped. Then, until it is put in a plastic bag or polybag, the fire finally appears.