Suspects to pay bail before traveling<\/p>\n
Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Aside from a letter from a doctor and a permit from the Attorney
\nGeneral's Office, a corruption suspect or defendant wanting to
\nget medical treatment abroad will have to pay a bond, a newly
\nendorsed bill says.<\/p>\n
According to articles in the bill that revises Law No. 5\/1999
\non the public prosecution service, the bond should equal the
\namount the corruption suspect or defendant is accused of
\nstealing.<\/p>\n
The House of Representatives endorsed the bill during a
\nplenary meeting attended by 202 of 500 House members on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Under the current version of Law No. 5\/1991, a suspect or
\ndefendant need only produce a recommendation letter from a doctor
\nand a permit from the Attorney General's Office to go overseas
\nfor medical treatment.<\/p>\n
Of the 202 legislators attending the plenary meeting, 194
\nlawmakers voted for the bill's endorsement, while eight others
\nvoted against it.<\/p>\n
The eight are members of the Indonesian Nationhood Unity (KKI)
\nfaction.<\/p>\n
Hamid Mappa, KKI faction spokesman, questioned the decision to
\nraise the retirement age of prosecutors from 58 to 62. However,
\nanother KKI faction member Tjetje Hidayat Padmadinata said that
\nthe rejection of the revision by his faction was due only to a
\n"misunderstanding".<\/p>\n
Tjetje said that his faction had agreed to the revision of the
\nPublic Prosecution Service Law in earlier discussions with the
\nHouse's special committee.<\/p>\n
House deputy speaker Soetardjo Soerjogoeritno who presided
\nover the plenary meeting stressed that differences of opinion
\namong House factions reflected democracy.<\/p>\n
In his acceptance speech, Attorney General M.A. Rachman
\nmeanwhile said that the decision to raise the retirement age of
\nprosecutors from 58 to 62 was aimed at creating professional
\nprosecutors. He did not elaborate.<\/p>\n
Rachman said the revision of the law would compel prosecutors
\nto uphold law enforcement, public service, and corruption
\neradication.<\/p>\n
Earlier in the day, the House also endorsed the bill on the
\nestablishment of the Judicial Commission, a new state institution
\ndesigned to improve the performance of the judiciary.<\/p>\n
The Judicial Commission will have authority to select the
\njustices in the Supreme Court and to supervise the performance of
\nthe justices.<\/p>\n
The new commission will have seven members consisting of
\nformer justices, legal practitioners, legal experts and members
\nof the community.<\/p>\n
The commission will have the power to subpoena law officers
\nand judges to explain their actions as part of its supervisory
\nfunction.<\/p>\n
The judicial commission can propose the dismissal of justices
\nto the Supreme Court and to the Constitutional Court, which would
\nlater report the case to the president who will have the final
\nsay.<\/p>\n
Key Articles
\n============================================================
\nArticle 37 (3): Besides a doctor's recommendation, a defendant is
\nrequired to pay a bond before leaving the country for medical
\ntreatment. The bond shall equal the state losses resulting from
\nthe crime.<\/p>\n
Article 38: The president can set up a commission to supervise
\nand to boost the performance of the public prosecution service.
\n==============================================================<\/p>",
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