Replacement of judges in BUN case trial sought<\/p>\n
Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The prosecutors handling a graft trial involving officials of
\nthe now-defunct Bank Umum Nasional (BUN) have demanded the
\nreplacement of the panel of judges under suspicion of a conflict
\nof interest following the court's decision not to hear the
\ntestimony of a witness.<\/p>\n
The Attorney General's Office wrote to the head of the Central
\nJakarta District Court and also to the Jakarta High Court and the
\nSupreme Court on Wednesday, to protest the district court's
\ndecision during Tuesday's hearing.<\/p>\n
Office spokesman Barman Zahir told reporters on Wednesday that
\npresiding judge Amiruddin Zakaria had used a weak argument in
\nrefusing to hear the testimony of the prosecutors' expert witness
\nOei Hoei Tiong, an executive from the central bank, Bank
\nIndonesia.<\/p>\n
"The prosecutors concluded that the presiding judge has an
\ninterest in the ongoing prosecution because his decision was
\nbased on the request of the lawyers of the defendants. We demand
\nthe replacement of the presiding judge or the whole panel of
\njudges, trying the case," Barman said.<\/p>\n
In Tuesday's hearing, the lawyers of the defendants -- BUN
\ndirector Leonard Tanubrata and vice commissioner Kaharudin Ongko
\n-- filed an objection against the expert witness provided by the
\nprosecutors, saying that the central bank was also implicated in
\nthe case.<\/p>\n
The judges -- Amiruddin, Andi Samsan Nganro and I Ketut Gede
\n-- accepted the objection although the prosecutors, led by Arnold
\nAngkow, had protested the judges' decision on the grounds that
\nthe Criminal Code Procedures (KUHAP) had regulated that the court
\nmust hear all testimonies which had been recorded in the
\ndossiers.<\/p>\n
The judges based their argument merely on a Supreme Court
\ncircular which stated that it was the panel of judges who had the
\nauthority to decide which witnesses could be produced in the
\ncourtroom, Barman said.<\/p>\n
The case, which also involves BUN commissioner, tycoon Mohamad
\n"Bob" Hasan, centers around the alleged misuse of Rp 6.7 trillion
\n(US$670 million) of Bank Indonesia's emergency loans disbursed
\nbetween November 1997 and April 1998.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/replacement-of-judges-in-bun-case-trial-sought-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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