Akbar defamation case adjourned

Akbar defamation case adjourned

JAKARTA: House of Representative Speaker Akbar Tandjung could
not testify against the chief editor of the Rakyat Merdeka daily
newspaper, Karim Paputungan, as the defendant was sick Thursday.

Presiding Judge Asnahwati adjourned the hearing for a week
after Karim's lawyers walked out of the courtroom.

After the hearing, Akbar, who looked upset, blamed prosecutor
Soepomo for the delay. He said he had wasted time set aside for
the hearing.

The Golkar Party chairman was accompanied by dozens of the
party members.

Akbar, who was recently sentenced to three years in jail for
corruption by the Central Jakarta District Court, reported Karim
to police for defamation after the daily published a caricature
featuring a shirtless Akbar with a glaring heading: "Akbar is
doomed, Golkar cries for blood" early last year.

Defamation carries a maximum jail sentence of one year and
four months. -- JP