IKAHI leaps to defend Manulife judges<\/p>\n
Tiarma Siboro and Berni K. Moestafa, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The Indonesian Judges' Association (IKAHI) stepped in to
\ndefend three of its members whom a government corruption watchdog
\nsuspects of having taken bribes in a controversial bankruptcy
\ncase that seriously damaged the already tarnished image of the
\nlegal system here.<\/p>\n
IKAHI accused the Public Servants' Wealth Audit Commission
\n(KPKPN) on Thursday of prematurely jumping to the conclusion that
\nthe three judges had amassed their fortunes through bribery,
\nclaiming that this violated the presumption of innocence.<\/p>\n
IKAHI chairman Toton Suprapto warned the commission not to
\nlightly make public the wealth of judges or mislead the public
\ninto believing judges were corrupt.<\/p>\n
KPKPN chairman Jusuf Sjakir denied having done so.<\/p>\n
"We're allowed to announce the wealth of public servants,
\nincluding declaring whether or not they obtained it properly," he
\ntold reporters after a two-and-a-half-hour meeting with IKAHI
\nrepresentatives at the commission's office.<\/p>\n
He explained that the disagreement between the two bodies had
\nmore to do with differences over the "philosophy of
\ntransparency."<\/p>\n
The KPKPN is investigating the wealth of the three judges who
\ndeclared Canada-based insurance firm PT Asuransi Jiwa Manulife
\nIndonesia (AJMI) bankrupt last June. The Supreme Court later
\noverturned the ruling on technicalities.<\/p>\n
Three separate investigations into the judges have since been
\nlaunched following widespread public suspicion of bribery. The
\ntwo others are being conducted by teams from the Ministry of
\nJustice and Human Rights, and the Supreme Court respectively.<\/p>\n
The investigations have put the wealth of members of the
\njudiciary into the media spotlight, wealth suspected of being
\nillicitly obtained from a legal system a visiting United Nations
\nexpert said last month was infested with corruption.<\/p>\n
Public servants, including judges, legislators and senior
\ngovernment officials, must declare their wealth to the KPKPN.<\/p>\n
One of the judges in the Manulife case, Kristipurnami, drew
\nthe KPKPN's attention when it found out she owned undeclared
\nassets of around Rp 1.4 billion (about US$150,000).<\/p>\n
She initially told the commission that her assets were worth
\nRp 1.1 billion, a statement KPKPN officials now label a lie.<\/p>\n
The undeclared money is kept in several joint accounts with
\nher daughter in Bank Mandiri.<\/p>\n
Last April, Kristipurnami signed a statement saying that her
\ndaughter worked for the lawyer who represented a former AJMI
\nshareholder with which Manulife had been locked in a two-year
\nlegal dispute.<\/p>\n
The document was prepared for the Australian Embassy to allow
\nher daughter to obtain a student visa. In it, she said she had
\nthe financial means to support her daughter during her stay in
\nAustralia.<\/p>\n
Facing public scrutiny, Kristipurnami has now hired lawyers to
\ndefend her.<\/p>\n
"The KPKPN's examination is still at too early a stage to
\nsuggest to the public that Kristi took bribes," said Indra S.
\nLubis, one of the eight lawyers she has hired.<\/p>\n
He said the commission had no "legal facts" to support its
\nclaim. "We sense that there is a possibility of libel here," he
\nadded, warning that his team might consider suing the KPKPN.<\/p>\n
Indra said that Kristipurnami inherited the Rp 1.4 billion
\nfrom her husband, who told her to save it for their children's
\neducation.<\/p>\n
"Her husband died in 1993 and left her with US$38,000 in a
\nbank deposit ... over time her interest earnings caused it to
\ngrow to Rp 1.4 billion," he explained.<\/p>\n
Petrus Selestinus, a KPKPN official who examines the assets of
\njudicial officials, said Kristipurnami should have reported the
\njoint accounts nonetheless.<\/p>\n
He said the KPKPN would examine her accounts in Bank Mandiri
\nnext week to look for cash inflows other than interest earnings.<\/p>\n
"If we find any signs of bribery, we'll hand the case over to
\nthe police. This could happen by the end of this month," Petrus
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Earlier he said that judges earned between Rp 3 million and Rp
\n7 million a month. However, many judges in big cities were known
\nto spend up to Rp 1 billion in one year on houses or cars,
\naccording to KPKPN reports.<\/p>\n
Another judge in the Manulife case, Hasan Basri, has reported
\nassets of Rp 1.28 billion, which he claimed he had saved from his
\nearnings since 1969.<\/p>\n
But he later admitted to the KPKPN that around 10 percent had
\ncome from "gratitude money" litigants had paid him after he had
\nruled in their favor.<\/p>",
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