18-month jail term sought for Sapuan

JAKARTA (JP): State prosecutors asked the South Jakarta District Court on Tuesday to sentence Sapuan, the former deputy head of the State Logistics Agency (Bulog), to 18 months in jail for his role in an alleged Rp 35 billion (US$3.7 million) embezzlement scam.

Prosecutor Nulis Sembiring said the defendant had ordered the executive chairman of Yanatera, the Bulog employees' foundation, to disburse the money to Alip Agung Soewondo, President Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid's masseur.

Soewondo, 57, claimed that he was requested by President Wahid to obtain the funds for humanitarian aid in Aceh, but Sapuan had never checked up on this claim with the President, the prosecutor said.

Soewondo's trial was scheduled to start last Thursday, but was adjourned for a week as the defendant was ill.

While Gus Dur continued to deny his role in the scandal, the House of Representatives last week issued a memorandum of censure on Gus Dur's alleged involvement in Buloggate and another financial scam, Bruneigate. The House also asked the Attorney General's Office and the police to investigate the two cases.

Prosecutor Sembiring said in his summing up that the mitigating factors in the case were that the defendant had lost his job at the agency, had not personally benefited financially, was already advanced in years, had been cooperative during the trial and that some of the funds had been returned to the foundation.

Among the compounding factors were that the case had caused unease among Yanatera staff and given rise to controversy in society.

Sembiring said in his 109-page summing up that the defendant ordered the Yanatera executive chairman Mulyono to give sums of Rp 10 billion and Rp 25 billion to Soewondo on Jan. 13 and Jan. 25 respectively.

Mulyono, however, refused to disburse the second sum as the first Rp 10 million had not been repaid, but the defendant insisted that it was urgent as the funds had been personally requested by President Abdurrahman Wahid for the purpose of humanitarian aid for Aceh.

"But, the facts have shown that the money was not employed for humanitarian aid in Aceh by Suwondo, while the defendant never sought confirmation from the President in respect of Suwondo's request," Sembiring charged.

The prosecutor, who failed to call either Suwondo or Gus Dur to testify at the trial, also alleged that the defendant had abused his authority.

He said former Bulog chief and ex-Minister of Industry and Trade Yusuf Kalla had previously rejected disbursement of the Yanatera funds as President Abdurrahman was unwilling to issue a Presidential Decree officially sanctioning such a move.

The prosecutor said that the Yanatera statutes clearly stipulated that release of foundation funds of more than Rp 500 million must be approved by the Bulog chief.

The one-hour hearing started at 2 p.m, four hours behind schedule as the prosecutors said they had to revise their statement.

Presiding judge Lalu Mariyun adjourned the hearing until Feb. 20 to hear defense arguments.(01)