Aceh chopper broker faces court verdict

Aceh chopper broker faces court verdict

JAKARTA: Judges at the Anticorruption Court are scheduled to hand down a verdict on Sept. 20 in the case of businessman Bram Manoppo, who has been charged with graft over the 2001 purchase of a Russian-made helicopter by the Aceh administration.

Prosecutors had demanded that the defendant, who brokered the business deal, be jailed for seven years and fined Rp 200 million (US$20,000).

They also requested the court to order Bram and suspended Aceh governor Abdullah Puteh to share the burden of repaying a total of Rp 10.1 billion back to the state. Puteh was found guilty and sentenced to 10 years for the same crime.

In the trial on Tuesday, the prosecutors rejected as "groundless" all defense pleas by Bram and his lawyers.

"The lawyers said the signing of a letter of intent (with the Aceh administration) was normal and was not against the law; likewise, for the Rp 750 million as a down payment to buy the helicopter. But it is not true and is against Presidential Decree No. 18/2000 on goods and services procurement," prosecutor Wisnu Baroto told the court.

He said the decree does not recognize the term "letter of intent".

The claim by Bram and his lawyers that the Aceh administration had still not paid him Rp 1.7 billion of more than Rp 10.1 billion -- the total price of the helicopter, also was not true, Wisnu said.

He added that based on testimonies by witnesses the unpaid amount was only Rp 562 million. --Antara