Beddu's dossiers submitted to court

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)