Prosecutor's office sets eight graft suspects free<\/p>\n
Luh Putu Trisna Wahyuni, The Jakarta Post, Mataram<\/p>\n
The West Nusa Tenggara prosecutor's office has finally caved in
\nto pressure, releasing eight jailed graft suspects from prison
\nafter one of the nine suspects died of natural causes on
\nThursday.<\/p>\n
According to head of Mataram penitentiary, Jauhar Fardin, the
\nsuspect, Lalu Artawa, appeared healthy in the morning, conducting
\nhis regular morning exercise.<\/p>\n
But at 9 a.m. Lalu complained of breathing problems, and he
\nwas immediately transported to the Army hospital located next
\ndoor at around 9:45 p.m. local time, or 8:45 Jakarta time.<\/p>\n
\"We took him (Lalu) to hospital but he died,\" Jauhar said.
\nLalu reportedly died at 9:55 a.m. local time.<\/p>\n
The penitentiary's doctor, Ratih, said Lalu was still alive
\nwhen he was taken to the hospital. An Army hospital official said
\nhe died upon arrival.<\/p>\n
\"He had no heartbeat when he arrived here. We performed
\nmassage of his heart and lungs, but there was no reaction,\" said
\nthe Army hospital's doctor, Lt. Col. Priyono.<\/p>\n
He said that there were no suspicious marks on Lalu, and that
\nhe had died from chronic asthma.<\/p>\n
Lalu Artawa's family became hysterical on finding out that the
\nformer councillor had died.<\/p>\n
On learning of the death, head of the West Nusa Tenggara
\nprosecutor's office Zainal Arifin, military resort commander Lt.
\nCol. Soeparto, West Nusa Tenggara police chief Brig. Gen. M.
\nTosin, head of Mataram penitentiary Jauhar Fardin and West Nusa
\nTenggara provincial administration secretary Nanang Samodra held
\na closed door meeting.<\/p>\n
Soon after, the remaining eight jailed graft suspects were
\ntaken into the meeting.<\/p>\n
After the meeting, the prosecutor's office made a surprise
\ndecision, announcing that the eight suspects would be released.<\/p>\n
\"There's no other choice for me. We decided to suspend the
\ndetention of the suspects starting today (Thursday) to avoid
\nfurther commotion. I suspended their detention not because of the
\nattack which damaged my office, but because of Lalu Artawa's
\ndeath,\" Zainal said.<\/p>\n
On Monday, the prosecutor's office was attacked by hundreds of
\nprotesters demanding the release of the nine jailed graft
\nsuspects -- former councillors who were allegedly involved in a
\nmark-up case worth Rp 24.5 billion (US$2.6 million) from the 2001
\nprovincial budget. Three other suspects in the case remain free,
\nand are sitting members of the provincial council.<\/p>\n
Zainal insisted that he did not cave in to protester's
\npressure in suspending the detention, saying he was just trying
\nto prevent further conflict that might disrupt security in the
\nprovince.<\/p>\n
\"Although we set them free, the investigation process will
\ncontinue,\" Zainal said.<\/p>\n
The decision was a setback for the prosecutor's office in
\ndealing with corruption. It has previously turned down many
\nrequests, including from Governor Lalu Serinata, to suspend or
\nchange the suspects' detention status.<\/p>\n
Zainal said the prosecutor's office was ready to be held
\naccountable if Lalu Artawa's family wanted to take legal action
\nagainst his office.<\/p>\n
On Thursday, dozens of activists from non-governmental
\norganizations activists came to the prosecutor office, demanding
\nthat they press ahead with the graft investigation.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/prosecutors-office-sets-eight-graft-suspects-free-1447893297",
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