Reverse prosecution on Soeharto 'unviable'<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Guilty until proven innocent -- in which one has
\nto prove one's innocence -- cannot be applied to Soeharto and his
\nfamily who allegedly amassed a fortune during the former
\npresident's 32 years in power, a law professor says.<\/p>\n
Chainur Arrasyid of the Medan-based Sumatra Utara University
\n(USU) in North Sumatra told Antara news agency on Thursday that
\nthe approach was not viable in the country's \"conventional\" legal
\nsystem.<\/p>\n
The country's current legal system upholds the presumption of
\ninnocence, he said.<\/p>\n
\"You just can't confiscate one's wealth before proving him
\nguilty, it's not in line with the existing legal system,\" Chainur
\nwas quoted as saying.<\/p>\n
The \"reversed prosecution\" method has never been used here and
\nregardless of growing calls for such prosecution, it would not be
\neasy to apply in Soeharto's case, Chainur said.<\/p>\n
Under the current legal system, the state can confiscate a
\nperson's wealth only after proving him guilty of obtaining it
\nillegally, he maintained.<\/p>\n
Controversy surrounding Soeharto's wealth and discussions
\nabout ways to prove he is guilty or otherwise of obtaining it
\nillegally, mounted after he said in a televised speech that he
\ndid not have a single cent stashed either here or abroad.<\/p>\n
An investigation has so far failed to yield any results.
\nAttorney General Andi Muhammad Ghalib defended his office's
\ninvestigation's failure by saying that he could not find any
\ntraces of hidden wealth.<\/p>\n
\"How can someone be accused of stealing chickens when the
\nchickens are nowhere to be found?\" Ghalib said. \"What is the
\nbasis of making Soeharto a suspect?\"<\/p>\n
U.S. magazine Forbes, in its July edition, estimated that
\nSoeharto had a fortune worth US$4 billion deposited overseas.<\/p>\n
In a related development on Friday, State Minister of Agrarian
\nAffairs Hasan Basri Durin said his office had yet to find land
\ncertificates under the name of Soeharto, although it had found 15
\ndocuments across the country which had probable links to
\nSoeharto's family.<\/p>\n
\"The office has just found one plot of land under the name of
\nTien Soeharto (Soeharto's late wife), even that's only (the site
\nof) an old house. As for land certificates under the name of
\nSoeharto, we haven't found any in the country,\" he was quoted by
\nAntara as saying in Samarinda, East Kalimantan. (aan)<\/p>",
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