COVID-19 Soars, Court Judgment On AGO's Building Fire Case Postponed

JAKARTA - The Panel of Judges of the South Jakarta District Court (PN) has postponed the trial for reading the verdict or decision on the fire case in the Attorney General's Office (AGO). This is due to the consideration of the spread of COVID-19 in the judicial environment.

"We deeply apologize that we have not been able to read out today's verdict to reduce the spread of COVID-19," said Chief Justice Elfian in Jakarta, quoted by Antara, Thursday, July 1.

Furthermore, the reading of the verdict or verdict for the six defendants namely Uti Abdul Munir, Imam Sudrajat, Sahrul Karim, Karta, Tarno and Halim is scheduled for July 26, 2021 at the South Jakarta District Court.

The Panel of Judges, Elfian, emphasized that the postponement of the trial was not intentionally made up, but to prioritize the health and safety of all.

The panel of judges also asked the defendants, the public prosecutor and the legal counsel of the six defendants to maintain their health before the trial verdict was read out on July 26, 2021.

Uti Abdul Munir is the foreman on the renovation project for the AGO, Imam Sudrajat is the worker in charge of installing the wallpaper, Sahrul Karim, Karta, Tarno, and Halim are the construction workers.

The other five defendants, apart from Uti, were demanded by the prosecutors for one year in prison because they were believed to have been negligent and caused the AGO Building to catch fire. Meanwhile, Uti was demanded by the prosecutor for a prison sentence of one year and six months.