Bogus seminar organizer charged with swindling<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Vocational high school teacher Zawawi Suat is
\nbeing tried at the Central Jakarta District Court for allegedly
\nswindling the participants of a seminar he had organized.<\/p>\n
The court ran the second hearing of the case on Thursday,
\nhearing testimonies from the witnesses: Mulyadi, a staffer at the
\nstate-owned insurance company PT Jamsostek and Nur Hidayat
\nUmatjina, a staffer at an export-import company located in North
\nJakarta. Both witnesses participated in the seminar.<\/p>\n
At last week's indictment, prosecutor Y. Eddy charged that the
\ndefendant held the seminar with the assistance of M. Toha,
\nKalsum, Firdaus, Sukarto, Muchsin, Taufik and Astuti.<\/p>\n
The seminar, billed as a \"One-day National Dialog on Customs\",
\nwas held at the Palikrama Hall in the Central Jakarta Pawnshop on
\nOct. 29 last year.<\/p>\n
The indictment stated that the defendant, who was chairman of
\nthe seminar's organizing committee, issued 600 invitations to
\nmembers of the public for Rp 500,000 (US$71) each.<\/p>\n
It said participants could obtain tickets through agencies, by
\nbank transfer or on the day the seminar was held.<\/p>\n
The organizing committee printed two different kinds of
\ninvitations.<\/p>\n
The first invited people to attend a seminar which would
\nfeature the director general of customs at the finance ministry,
\nHermana Agung, as its keynote speaker.<\/p>\n
Others speakers on the list were customs experts Soetjipto,
\nDaryono, Arief, Ali Purwito; director of Jakarta airports
\nmanagement company PT Angkasa Pura II Miskul Firdaus; and the
\ndirector of Jakarta seaports operator PT Pelindo II, Herman
\nPrayitno.<\/p>\n
The second invitation said that former minister of trade and
\nindustry Rahardi Ramelan would be the keynote speaker. Other
\nlisted speakers were Djoko Mulyono, the director general of
\nforeign trade at the finance ministry, and Daryono, Miskul
\nFirdaus, Ali Purwito and Arief.<\/p>\n
Enthusiast<\/p>\n
In the hearing, presided over by Judge Poerwanto, Nur Hidayat
\nUmatjina said he went to the seminar as a representative of his
\ncompany in order to learn more about customs and export-import
\naffairs.<\/p>\n
\"We enthusiastically attended the seminar as the listed
\nspeakers were qualified people,\" he told the hearing. He said his
\ncompany had sent two employees to the seminar. However, none of
\nthe listed speakers appeared at the seminar.<\/p>\n
The indictment stated they were substituted by other, less
\nwell-known speakers.<\/p>\n
The indictment hinted that the committee had contacted the
\nspeakers, but they had replied they could not address the
\nseminar. However, it continued, the committee insisted on selling
\nthe tickets without informing the public and the participants
\nabout the speakers' absence.<\/p>\n
It said the committee had succeeded in selling 400 tickets,
\nearning a total revenue of Rp 200 million.<\/p>\n
The indictment also stated that the seminar, which had yet to
\nobtain a permit from the police, did not provide the participants
\nwith seminar kits.<\/p>\n
\"Many participants could not even get seats,\" it said, adding
\nthat the committee only provided 300.<\/p>\n
The 41-year-old defendant said he had informed the
\nparticipants over the absence of the speakers just before the
\nseminar started.<\/p>\n
\"They apparently accepted my explanation. But after the first
\nsession, some participants who were late to the hall protested to
\nthe committee because they could not get seats,\" he said after
\nthe hearing.<\/p>\n
He said it sparked anger from other participants, who then
\nreported him to the police.<\/p>\n
\"Other committee members disappeared just after the quarreling
\noccurred at the seminar,\" he added.<\/p>\n
The prosecutor said the defendant had violated article 378 of
\nthe Criminal Code on swindling, which carries a maximum sentence
\nof four years in jail.<\/p>\n
Judge Poerwanto adjourned the hearing until next week to hear
\ntestimonies from other witnesses. (asa)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/bogus-seminar-organizer-charged-with-swindling-1447893297",
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"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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