Rahardi's trial to be handle by panel of 'generous' judge<\/p>\n
Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The judges set to handle the graft trial of former State
\nLogistics Agency (Bulog) chief Rahardi Ramelan next Tuesday in
\nthe South Jakarta District Court are no strangers to controversy.<\/p>\n
Judge Lalu Mariyun, who refused to try former President
\nSoeharto on corruption charges on the grounds that he was too old
\nto stand trial, will preside in the case and be accompanied by
\nassociate judges Abdul Madjid Rahim and IDG Putra Jadnya.<\/p>\n
The panel of judges was selected by Lalu in his capacity as
\nthe South Jakarta District Court chief.<\/p>\n
Rahardi, who was also the minister of industry and trade at
\nthe time in question, will be tried for his alleged role in the
\nRp 54.6 billion (about US$5.2 million) misuse of Bulog
\nnon-budgetary state funds. The high profile case also involves
\nGolkar Party leader and House of Representatives Speaker Akbar
\nTandjung.<\/p>\n
In September 2000, Lalu acquitted Soeharto's youngest son
\nHutomo \"Tommy\" Mandala Putra and businessman Ricardo Gelael of
\ncorruption charges in the high-profile Bulog land scam deal,
\nwhich caused the state to suffer losses of Rp 95.4 billion.<\/p>\n
The Supreme Court on appeal later found both Tommy and Ricardo
\nguilty and sentenced each of them to 18 months in jail.<\/p>\n
M. Syafiuddin Kartasasmita, one of the Supreme Court justices
\nin the case, was shot death last year and Tommy is scheduled to
\nstand trial for his murder on March. 20 in the Central Jakarta
\nDistrict Court.<\/p>\n
Following Tommy and Ricardo's conviction, the Supreme Court in
\na subsequent review did an about-face and acquitted the two
\ndefendants of all graft charges.<\/p>\n
Lalu also indefinitely recessed a corruption case worth US$571
\nmillion against Soeharto in September 2000 because of the
\ndefendant's ill health.<\/p>\n
Last week, he rejected on the same grounds a request from the
\nJakarta Prosecutor's Office to reopen the Soeharto case.<\/p>\n
Last year, Lalu presided over a panel of judges that sentenced
\nformer Bulog chief Beddu Amang to two years in jail and ordered
\nhim to pay Rp 5 billion in compensation for causing the state
\nlosses of Rp 20 billion in the Bulog land scam deal.<\/p>\n
The track records of the associate judges are no less
\ncontroversial.<\/p>\n
Two years ago, Abdul ruled in favor of defendant Hendra
\nRahardja, the chief commissioner of the now-defunct Bank BHS, who
\nfiled a lawsuit against the police for his detention by Interpol
\nin Australia on document forgery suspicions.<\/p>\n
Hendra is currently being tried in absentia by the Central
\nJakarta District Court for allegedly misusing over Rp 305 billion
\nand US$2.304 million of Bank Indonesia Liquidity Support (BLBI)
\nfunds.<\/p>\n
The Supreme Court overturned the district court's verdict in
\nthe Abdul case, and ruled that his detention in Australia was
\nlawful.<\/p>\n
Two years ago, Abdul acquitted Djoko S. Tjandra, a former
\ndirector of PT Era Giat Prima (PT EGP), of graft charges related
\nto the Bank Bali scandal, which caused the state losses of Rp 564
\nbillion.<\/p>\n
Judge Jadnya presided over a panel of judges that last year
\nacquitted Zaenal Agus, a judge of the Jakarta High Court, of
\nbribery charges.<\/p>\n
Jadnya was also one of the judges who acquitted former Bank
\nAspac president Hendrawan Harjono of graft that caused the state
\nlosses of Rp 583.4 billion. The panel of judges, instead,
\nsentenced Hendrawan to one year in jail and fined him Rp 500
\nmillion for violating banking laws.<\/p>\n
Rahardi, who has been detained in Cipinang Penitentiary in
\nEast Jakarta since last month, is charged under Anticorruption
\nLaw No.3\/1971 and Anticorruption Law No. 31\/1999. The 1999 law
\ncarries a maximum sentence of death, life or 20-years
\nimprisonment depending on the charges and circumstances, and a
\nminimum sentence of four years.<\/p>",
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