Beddu questioned over Bulog scam

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)