An Indonesian court has delayed its decision for two weeks in the case of Newmont's Buyat Bay gold mine in North Sulawesi province. A criminal case was brought against the mining firm and its local American executive over alleged pollution.

PT Newmont Minahasa Raya, a division of Denver-based Newmont Mining Corp., and its president director Richard Ness face charges over allegations the company dumped toxins into the bay near its now defunct gold mine, making villagers sick.

The Manado court where the case has been under way since August 2005 initially planned to deliver the verdict next Wednesday.

Chief Judge Ridwan Damanik said the judges needed more time to draw up the verdict.

"It takes time to compile opinion from five judges into a verdict. But I think the verdict can be read out on April 18," Damanik told Reuters by phone from Manado.

"The case is sensitive because we are trying foreign parties. We don't want to rush things, as it could become a problem," he said.

Newmont and Ness argued in January that they had obtained valid licenses to carry out mining activities, including a license for the disposal of tailings on the Buyat Bay seabed, and had obtained an environmental impact analysis by the environment ministry.

Prosecutors maintained that according to witnesses the firm did not have permits to dump the tailings on the seabed.