Palembang District Court Holds Field Session On Land Dispute In Soak Batok Village

PHOTO VIA BETWEEN

PALEMBANG - The Panel of Judges at the Class IA Palembang District Court held a field trial regarding a civil lawsuit over a 2-hectare land ownership dispute in Soak Batok Village, North Indralaya District, Ogan Ilir Regency.

The field trial chaired by Judge Yohanes Panji Prawoto, Member Judge Edi Cahyono, and the Substitute Registrar of the Class IA Palembang District Court, South Sumatra, Jeiny, was held directly at the location of the object of the case.

"This trial is conducted to find out where the object of the dispute is, where is the 2-hectare land, what is the condition, so that later it can be taken into consideration by the panel in making a decision," said Chief Justice Yohanes Panji Prawoto, starting the trial which was open to the public. It was reported by Antara, Friday, June 24.

The panel of judges asked the plaintiff on behalf of Tasin Siagung and three defendants, namely Darmawan Nurdin, Edi Susanto, and Silitonga to explain the question in accordance with the land certificate documents they had.

"I asked for the plaintiffs and defendants 1,2, and 3. What is the area of your land, where are the boundaries from?" asked the judge to the plaintiffs and defendants who attended the trial accompanied by legal counsel and their respective witnesses.

During the trial, it was discovered that Tasin as the plaintiff admitted that the entire land area of 20 thousand square meters (2 hectares) legally belonged to him.

"The boundary is from the base here to 200 meters across the toll road and then 100 meters to the back. Since 2006 on this land I have built cottages with brand signs. every month I come here because in this location there are also rice fields," he said.

He stated that the land was in the Karya Jaya area, Kertapati, Palembang, not Indralaya, Ogan Ilir as stated in the completeness of the land certificate he had, which was issued by the Palembang City Government and could be accounted for.

Then the Head of Administration for the Karya Jaya Lurah, Kertapati Cikya District, who was presented as a witness to the plaintiff, confirmed that the object of the case was in the area of Palembang City.

"As far as we know, the object of this case is in the Karya Jaya Village, Kertapati, Palembang," he said.

However, before the panel of judges, witness Cikya admitted that he did not know exactly whether the location of the land in question was in the area of Palembang City or Ogan Ilir.

"Because here there is also a regional boundary problem, so I don't know for sure. Then I have also only served as Head of Government since 2019," he said.

Defendant denied

Meanwhile, Silitonga as the defendant denied the plaintiff's statement, because he also believed that he was the legal owner of a land area of 20,000 square meters.

The land is located directly adjacent to the Kayuagung, Palembang and Betung (Kapal Betung) Toll Road project, which part of the disputed land has been compensated by the PT Waskita Karya group of companies as the executor of this toll project.

"My land has a SHM issued by the Ogan Ilir BPN office. Some of the land has even been compensated for the Kapal Betung Toll Project by PT Waskita Karya Tol," said Silitonga. In another part, Silitonga mentions that Tasin did not touch his land, which was originally claimed by someone named Marlis.

However, he continued, after approaching Marlis, it was finally suspected that Tasin had shifted the location of her land by changing the map of the location of her land to that of Silitonga.

"The agreement was written in writing, and because of shifting the land it ended up crossing the boundaries of my land. If you want to be sued, why should PT Waskita Karya Tol not also be sued because they are also known to own the land claimed by the plaintiff," he said.

Silitonga's statement is in line with the other two defendants, namely Darmawan Nurdin and Edi Susanto, who also have legal documents on the disputed land.

Meanwhile, the Head of Soak Batok Village, North Indralaya District, Ogan Ilir, Azom Romli emphasized that the disputed land is not located in Karya Jaya Village, Kertapati, Palembang, but in Soak Batok Village, Ogan Ilir. This is based on the Official Report (BA) The agreement on June 3, 2021, signed by the Mayor of Palembang, Regent Ogan Ilir, and Assistant for Government Affairs and Welfare at the Regional Secretariat of the South Sumatra Provincial Government.

"This means that this area is not included in the area of Palembang City but Ogan Ilir. Because there has been an agreement and just waiting for the approval of the Ministry of Home Affairs," said Azom, accompanied by local residents who also witnessed the trial.

After hearing the statements of the two parties, the Panel of Judges closed the trial and will resume it on Thursday 30 June 2022 by giving the plaintiff and defendant the opportunity to present witnesses and additional evidence at the Palembang District Court.