James Delahunty
5 Dec 2011 17:38
Chief Exec to be charged with negligence in sales stampede.
A November 25 sale of BlackBerry devices had to be broken up by police after several people passed out and became ill in a crowd of 5,000. They were there trying to get a 50 percent discount at the launch of the latest BlackBerry in Jakarta.
The discount was to be given to 1,000 people, but after 5,000 showed up, things got out of hand. Police have said that Andrew Cobham, RIM's CEO in Indonesia, is responsible for the promotional event, and is being charged with negligence.
"The suspect has been banned from travelling overseas. He must go through the legal process here," said police investigator Budi Irawan. The maximum penalty for negligence is nine months in prison.
There are about two million BlackBerry users in Indonesia.