Soeharto still unfit to stand trial: Prosecutor<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Former president Soeharto remains unfit to stand
\ntrial despite some improvement in his health, the chief
\nprosecutor handling a graft case in which the former ruler has
\nbeen implemented said on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Prosecutor Muchtar Arifin said he had come to the conclusion
\nafter reading the evaluation on Soeharto's state of health
\nconducted by a team of Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital (RSCM)
\ndoctors.<\/p>\n
\"Based on the evaluation of tests conducted between Feb. 28
\nand March 28 by the RSCM team of doctors, we consider Soeharto
\nstill unable to face trial,\" Muchtar told journalists at RSCM.<\/p>\n
Head of the medical team Ichramsyah A. Rachman said Soeharto
\nwas able to \"take care of himself in a limited way\".<\/p>\n
\"Now he can eat, take a bath and pray unassisted, but his
\nactivities need close monitoring,\" Ichramsyah said.<\/p>\n
The medical report, however, revealed that Soeharto's
\ncognitive problems remain, saying that he was very slow to speak
\nand needed time to think before answering the doctors' questions.<\/p>\n
Ichramsyah said the decision to declare whether aging Soeharto
\nwas fit for trial was up to the prosecutors, not the doctors.<\/p>\n
The doctors on the RSCM team, according to Ichramsyah,
\nalternately went to Jl. Cendana in Central Jakarta, where
\nSoeharto lives, every day since Feb. 28 to conduct medical
\nchecks. The doctors met twice to assess Soeharto's health.<\/p>\n
Muchtar said the monitoring of Soeharto's health at his
\nresidence was scheduled to last until July 28, but asserted that
\nthe possibility of bringing the suspect to court in the distant
\nfuture was wide open.<\/p>\n
\"We will resume the trial of Soeharto as soon as the medical
\nteam declares his health condition is good,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He also said that the Attorney General's Office had requested
\nmoney from the Ministry of Finance to cover the cost of
\nSoeharto's medical treatment.<\/p>\n
\"For the time being, Soeharto's medical expense is being
\ncovered by RSCM,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The Supreme Court recently upheld the South Jakarta District
\nCourt's decision to delay the prosecution of 79-year-old
\nSoeharto, who has been charged in connection with a US$571
\nmillion corruption case, and to release him from house arrest
\nbecause of his ailing health.<\/p>\n
The court also ordered the Attorney General's Office to
\nsupervise his health care and cover his medical costs until he
\nwas declared fit for trial. (01)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/soeharto-still-unfit-to-stand-trial-prosecutor-1447893297",
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