Prison guard rejects charge in Tansil case<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): A staff member of the Cipinang penitentiary
\nrejected yesterday the accusation that he took part in a plot to
\nlet businessman Eddy Tansil escape last May in return for money.<\/p>\n
\"I was simply following an order from my superior,\" the
\ndefendant, MH, told the East Jakarta District Court during cross-
\nexamination yesterday. \"I knew nothing about a plot.\"<\/p>\n
The defendant, a guard, escorted Tansil out of his cell and
\nthe penitentiary and into a waiting car on the night of May 4.<\/p>\n
Tansil, the owner of the Golden Key Group who was convicted of
\nswindling the state-owned Bank Pembangunan Indonesia (Bapindo)
\nout of Rp 1.3 trillion ($620 million), is still at large and is
\nbelieved to have fled the country. He was in his second year of a
\n20-year prison term.<\/p>\n
Five guards of the penitentiary are now separately standing
\ntrial at the East Jakarta District Court for aiding the escape.
\nOne of them is DH, the commandant of the unit responsible for
\nTansil's cell at the time of the escape.<\/p>\n
When asked by the judge, the defendant said the order from his
\nsuperior did not state the reason why Tansil was leaving the
\npenitentiary.<\/p>\n
He said there was no written order, which the prosecution
\ninsisted was a standing order for the release of any prisoner.<\/p>\n
\"It is common in the penitentiary to receive orders from
\nsuperiors by telephone,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Tansil had permission to leave the penitentiary for a checkup,
\nbut it was for May 6, two days before he escaped, according to
\nthe prosecutors.<\/p>\n
\"No one told me Tansil was going for a medical checkup,\" the
\ndefendant said.<\/p>\n
The defendant admitted receiving Rp 100,000 (US$45) from his
\ncommandant DH, but stressed he had no knowledge that it was
\nlinked to Tansil's escape.<\/p>\n
\"I gladly took it because I thought it was a windfall,\" he
\nsaid, adding that prison guards receive tips from inmates now and
\nthen.<\/p>\n
The defendants and four others are charged under Article 419
\nof the Criminal Code pertaining to government workers taking
\ngifts in the knowledge that such gifts are intended to influence
\nhim or her. If found guilty the maximum penalty is five years
\nimprisonment.<\/p>\n
The defendants are also charged under the 1971 Anticorruption
\nLaw, of which a guilty verdict carries a maximum penalty of 20
\nyears imprisonment and a Rp 30 million fine.<\/p>\n
The hearing, presided by judge Achmad Makmum, was adjourned
\nuntil next week. (16)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/prison-guard-rejects-charge-in-tansil-case-1447893297",
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