Beddu's dossiers submitted to court

JAKARTA (JP): South Jakarta Prosecutors' Office chief Antasari Azhar submitted on Thursday the dossiers of the former State Logistics Agency (Bulog) chief Beddu Amang to the South Jakarta District Court.

The court president, Lalu Mariyun, said that he would appoint the judges to handle the case soon after he had studied the dossier.

Beddu is accused of corruption as he allegedly abused his authority in a 1995 land exchange deal between Bulog and wholesale firm PT Goro Batara Sakti.

The scandal caused Rp 76.7 billion (US$8.1 million) in state losses.

Former president Soeharto's favorite son Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra and businessman Ricardo Gelael, respectively the commissioner and an executive of PT Goro, have each been sentenced to 18 months in prison in connection with the deal. Tommy went missing on Nov. 3 last year and has been on the run ever since.

Beddu was detained on Nov. 29, but has been under house arrest since Dec. 6 as he claimed to be ill.

Lalu said the court has yet to decide anything on the defendant's arrest status.

The court once threw out the charges against Beddu as the prosecutors had failed to obtain the presidential approval required to charge him as a member of the People's Consultative Assembly. (01)