Ex-councillors to be questioned<\/p>\n
Theresia Sufa, The Jakarta Post, Bogor<\/p>\n
The Bogor Prosecutor's Office will summon three former
\ncouncillors as witnesses for questioning on Tuesday in connection
\nwith alleged graft involving around Rp 5.53 billion
\n(US$607,692.31).<\/p>\n
The three former councillors are T. Tatang Muchtar, Amiruddin
\nUhar and Djoko Mulyono. They were deputy speakers for the 1999-
\n2004 period. Tatang is now the current Bogor Council speaker for
\nthe 2004-2009 term.<\/p>\n
\"It is impossible that a crime of this magnitude could have
\nbeen committed by only one person. He must have received help
\nfrom his colleagues,\" chief prosecutor Kornelis Lere said on
\nMonday. \"If there is enough evidence, the three may be detained,
\nas we have done with former council speaker Muchamad Sahid.\"<\/p>\n
He made his statement when receiving students from a number of
\nuniversities in Bogor.<\/p>\n
Lere said that the prosecutor's office had notified West Java
\nGovernor Danny Setiawan that they wanted to question the three
\nmen.<\/p>\n
\"The governor should issue his consent in 48 hours as
\nstipulated in Article 106 (4) of Law No. 22\/2003 on the
\ncomposition and structure of legislative bodies. This article
\nalso states that if a legislator is alleged to have committed a
\ncrime involving corruption or subversion, the prosecutor's office
\nor the police do not need to request the consent of the
\npresident, the minister of home affairs or the governor, as the
\ncase may be, to question the legislator concerned. We only need
\nto submit a report,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Sahid has been detained in the Paledang penitentiary since
\nSept. 23 after he was questioned for more than five hours by the
\nprosecutors on his role in the alleged corruption.<\/p>\n
A letter from Bogor Mayor Diani Budiarto on Monday requesting
\nthe prosecutors to release Sahid failed to do him any good.<\/p>\n
\"We received the letter from the mayor requesting us to
\nrelease Sahid. It was not the first one. We have received many
\nsuch requests, including one from the Indonesian Democratic Party
\nof Struggle (PDI-P),\" Lere said, adding that Sahid was a
\ncouncillor representing the PDI-P.<\/p>\n
\"However, we are not going to release Pak Sahid. The
\nprosecutor's office must not be interfered with by anybody. We
\nare not investigating a politic case. This is purely criminal.\"<\/p>\n
The letter from the mayor dated Sept. 25 requested the
\nprosecutor's office to release M. Sahid as he was needed in his
\ncapacity as deputy mayor. The letter also stated that Mayor Diani
\nBudiarto would guarantee that he would not abscond.<\/p>\n
Lere said that Sahid had been detained in respect of alleged
\ninvolvement in graft during his term as the council speaker, and
\nnot during his time as the incumbent deputy mayor.<\/p>\n
Sahid's case file is expected to be submitted to the Bogor
\nDistrict Court in the near future.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ex-councillors-to-be-questioned-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}