Minister of Transport does not hesitate to impose criminal penalties on Lion Air

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – The Minister of Transport, Budi Karya Sumadi, said that he was not hesitant to impose sanctions, including criminal on Lion Air, for the tragedy of the plane crash in the waters of Tanjung Karawang. "Yes, if there is a correct legal basis," he said at a meeting between Tempo and the Office of the Ministry of Forests, Friday, November 2, 2018.

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The sanctions currently imposed by the Ministry of Transport are personal sanctions. The technical director and Lion Air Muhammad Asyif as well as Lion Air PQ-LQP Boeing 737-8 Max engineering equipment are released. Budi said that it was a step forward to help check the accident. It is not impossible that sanctions may extend to society.

For criminal indications, the Department of Transport is reluctant to double and is awaiting the results of the National Transportation Safety Committee (NTSC) investigation.

The results of a special audit investigation in this case, which also re-examined the feasibility of the final Boeing 747 Max-8 plan, are expected to be released in the next 3 to 6 months. "But not just the airlines, if there is an audit team that judges us equally careless, they can also be condemned as the case of the Air Asia accident there is four years old, "said Budi Karya.

The warning, Budi Karya added, was also given to Lion Air. After the plane crash, Budi Karya often met with Lion Air president, Edward Sirait, and the director of operations, Daniel Putut Kuncoro Adi.

The meeting with the owner of Lion Air, Rusdi Kirana, was also made by Budi Karya. He explained his meeting at Tanjung Priok, while monitoring the process of evacuation of the victims and pbadengers of Lion Air. "However, I did not talk much," said Budi Karya.

Lion Air's managing director, Edward Sirait, said the company was ready to work with all parties to ensure the deal was properly completed. He also did not fire if the plane had been damaged several times before finally falling into the waters of Karawang, in West Java. "We have also repaired it internally because we are waiting for the government," Edward said.