Police declare Adrian's lawyer a suspect<\/p>\n
Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Amid public pressure, National Police Headquarters declared Doni
\nAntares Irawan -- the lawyer of a key suspect in the Rp 1.7
\ntrillion (US$185 million) Bank Negara Indonesia scandal -- a
\nsuspect on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Doni allegedly provided false information and assisted his
\nclient, Adrian Waworuntu, evade arrest, said National Police
\ndetectives chief Comr. Gen. Suyitno Landung Sudjono.<\/p>\n
The National Police have been searching for Adrian for months
\nnow, and summoned Doni for interrogation at their headquarters
\nthis Thursday. The police are hoping that Doni will reveal the
\nwhereabouts of Adrian, who is on their most-wanted list.<\/p>\n
The police will also question Adrian's doctor F. Winerungan as
\na witness, Suyitno said.<\/p>\n
In a recent letter, Adrian asked the police, through Doni, for
\na seven-day stay for medical reasons. Doni guaranteed his client
\nwould surrender to the police on Oct. 1., but on that day Adrian
\nwas declared a suspect as he failed to show up.<\/p>\n
Noted lawyer Frans Hendra Winarta said on Tuesday, although
\nDoni was a lawyer, naming him a suspect was within the law.<\/p>\n
\"A lawyer should cooperate with the police, and report his
\nclient's whereabouts. A lawyer can't be declared a suspect if he
\nis practicing according to the law. But, if there are strong
\nindications that he has helped his client escape, then he can be
\nnamed a suspect,\" he told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
The National Police were taught a similar lesson in the case
\nof Hutomo \"Tommy\" Mandala Putra, the son of former president
\nSoeharto.<\/p>\n
Tommy, who is serving time in prison for his role in a murder
\ncase, once escaped arrest, allegedly thanks to the help of his
\nlawyer Elsa Syarif. Elsa was named a suspect and detained, but
\nlater released, with no clear explanation.<\/p>\n
In the BNI case, several executives of export companies PT
\nGramarindo and the Petindo group, including Adrian, were accused
\nof embezzling money from the second-largest bank in the country
\nbetween 2002 and 2003, by using letters of credit from banks in
\nthe Congo and Kenya to withdraw money from BNI's Kebayoran Baru
\nbranch.<\/p>\n
The letters of credit turned out to be fake, causing the state
\nbank to suffer losses of Rp 1.7 trillion. There are 16 suspects
\nin the case. Some suspects are still large, while others have
\nbeen jailed.<\/p>\n
The police's performance in the case has given rise to
\nsuspicion, as to why the key suspect, Adrian, has slipped through
\ntheir fingers.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/police-declare-adrians-lawyer-a-suspect-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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