Bank Bali suspects to be freed in 20 days: Police

JAKARTA (JP): Five suspects detained in the Rp 546 billion Bank Bali scandal will be freed no later than 20 days from their arrest on Wednesday, an officer said on Friday.

"Detainment of suspects can be renewed every 20 days. Maximum (detainment) is 60 days. But the five Bank Bali men detained here should be released within 20 days... even earlier," National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Togar M. Sianipar said.

He did not provide specific reasons for the police's apparently more lenient treatment of the four former directors of Bank Bali and an executive of PT Era Giat Prima (EGP). The scandal involves the payment of a commission to EGP which some believe was intended to bankroll President B.J. Habibie's presidential bid.

Togar only said the suspects were very cooperative.

The bank's former board of directors -- Rudy Ramli, Rusli Suryadi, Firman Soetjahja and Henri Kurniawan -- and businessman Djoko S. Chandra of EGP were detained on Wednesday pending further investigation.

Togar described as "unfounded rumors" the speculation that the detention of the suspects and the timing of their likely release were part of plan to keep them out of the public eye during the presidential election scheduled for the ongoing General Session of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR).

"The suspects were a risk to tamper with evidence and to flee country. The police also needed them for more aggressive questioning. That's it," Togar said.

"I don't care if the suspects' lawyers swear upon their lives that their clients won't run off somewhere or tamper with evidence. This is a police investigation. We'll do it our way."

Setya Novanto, an EGP executive and ruling Golkar Party official, was also detained on Wednesday but released at midnight on the grounds that his status as an MPR member prohibited police from detaining him without the President's written permission.

According to Togar, the National Police sent a letter on Friday morning to request permission from the President for Novanto's detention.

Novanto was sworn in with other newly elected MPR members on Friday.

On progress in revising dossiers of the 10 Bank Bali suspects, which were returned recently by the Jakarta Prosecutor's Office due to technicalities, Togar said that the 500-page dossiers would be returned to prosecutors on Monday.

"We hope, this time, they won't return it to us again," he said.

In a related development, National Police chief of detectives Maj. Gen. Da'i Bachtiar said that a letter to request permission from Habibie to question State Minister of the Empowerment of State Enterprises Tanri Abeng in relation to the scandal would be sent next week.

The House Of Representative's special investigative team urged Habibie last week to immediately suspend senior government officials allegedly involved in the scandal, including Tanri.

Habibie was adamant that he would not suspend any of his aides until a court ruling pronounced them guilty.

Da'i also confirmed that Rudy Ramli was ailing.

"I understand that Rudy was sick even before he was detained. But still he can't receive medical treatment at an overseas hospital, or any expensive hospitals here. If he wants, he could be treated at the Kramatjati Police Hospital in East Jakarta. He is a criminal suspect, after all."

More than 500 Bank Bali employees flocked to the National Police Headquarters for the second day in a row on Friday in a show of support for Rudy.

A woman employee who requested anonymity said the police should not forget Bank Bali's employees.

"We're 12,000 people, and we are all behind Rudy. The police should never dismiss the 12,000 of us as cowards," she said. (ylt)