Beddu questioned over Bulog scam
JAKARTA (JP): The former chairman of the State Logistics Agency (Bulog) Beddu Amang appeared on Thursday at the Attorney General's Office to face questioning as a suspect in a corruption case linked to the youngest son of former president Soeharto, Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra.
Prosecutors posed around 40 questions during the nine-hour session which focused on Beddu's role in a Rp 95.4 billion (some US$11 million) land exchange deal with wholesaler PT Goro Batara Sakti in 1995, which had caused losses of around Rp 76.7 million to the state.
Beddu's lawyer Amir Syamsuddin said the questions were similar to those posed during the investigation last year, but in more detail.
"The questioning was only to complete the dossiers and to listen to my client's explanation about some documents obtained by the prosecutors," Amir told journalists.
The case had actually gone to court last year with two other defendents Tommy and executive of PT Goro, Ricardo Gelael, already sentenced to 18-months jail each.
However the case against Beddu was dismissed by the South Jakarta district court on the grounds that the indictment was incomplete and that formal permission had not been obtained from the President to prosecute Beddu who at the time was still a member of the People's Consultative Assembly.
Prosecutors at the time charged that Beddu a day after being appointed Bulog chief in 1995, signed a memorandum of understanding with private firm PT Sekar Artha Sentosa, of which he is also president, for a land exchange deal involving a Bulog plot and warehouses in Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta.
Beddu had justified the transaction on the grounds that the warehouse complex which is located near the Kelapa Gading housing complex was no longer feasible.
The Bulog land was to be exchanged with a 150 hectare plot in Marunda, North Jakarta.
However Beddu then allegedly sent a letter to then finance minister Mari'e Muhammad stating the exchange would take place with PT Goro adding that then president Soeharto personally requested the land swap.
Tommy is commissioner of PT Goro.
Prosecutors had also alleged that Beddu had approved a Rp 23 billion payment to Bank Bukopin which was used by Tommy and Ricardo to secure a Rp 20 billion loan to buy part of the Marunda land which at the time still belonged to businessman Hokiarto.
Prosecutors also claimed that Beddu himself used Rp 32 billion of the agency's money to purchase another part of the Marunda land.
Coming out of Thursday's questioning at about 7:15 p.m., an exhausted looking Beddu tried to avoid journalists saying only that questioning would continue next week.
"The prosecutors gave me another day for the questioning because I'm tired," he said before leaving the compound.(bby)