Bribery rampant in court: Commission
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The Judicial Commission said on Monday that the bribery case involving former president Soeharto's half-brother Probosutedjo provided a crystal clear proof that the practice was rampant in the court system and legal professions.
Pressures, meanwhile, mounted for Chief Justice Bagir Manan, who is presiding over the panel of judges hearing the case, to be suspended, pending an investigation into him in connection with the bribery allegations.
Judicial Commission member Irawadi Joenoes said after questioning Probosutedjo on Monday that the bribery involved judges and officials at the Jakarta High Court, the Supreme Court as well as prosecutors and lawyers.
"In his account, Probosutedjo said the (judges at the Central Jakarta) District Court were clean, the High Court was crowded (by extorters) while the Supreme Court was even more crowded," Irawadi told reporters after the four-hour session.
Probosutedjo, who has confessed to the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) to having spent some Rp 16 billion on bribes for judges and court officials to rule in his favor, told reporters he gave the money to his lawyers to escape a jail sentence as he believed that did not commit a crime.
"This is a civil case rather than corruption," he said. Accompanying him was his lawyer H.A. Boer and economist Sri Edhi Swasono, who is the husband of State Minister of Women's Empowerment Meutia Farida Hatta Swasono.
Probosutedjo was convicted of embezzling reforestation funds that cost the state over Rp 100 billion in losses. He was sentenced to four years in jail by the Central Jakarta District Court in 2003, but the Jakarta High Court later halved the jail term.
The Supreme Court is still hearing his appeal.
Probosutedjo said he approved a suggestion from his then lawyers to pay a total of Rp 10 billion to officials of the district court and the high court.
"That's according to my lawyers, who fought for the most lenient verdict for me, or acquittal if possible," he said, as quoted by Antara.
Probosutedjo revealed that his defense lawyers Sony Lumantaw and Richard Marbun, who represented him at the district court, had given some of his money to prosecutors.
He added that lawyers Nurbaiti and Gatot Rusmanto, whom he hired to win his appeal at the High Court, said they would pay Judge Samang Hamidi, who presided over the panel of judges, and then Jakarta High Court head Ridwan Nasution.
"I gave the money through my lawyers," said Probosutedjo, who claimed he had no direct access to judges, prosecutors or court clerks handling his case.
Boer said his client would seek protection as a witness from the Corruption Eradication Commission, which is now investigating the scandal.
Probosutedjo claims that he is a whistleblower for the KPK, but observers have insisted that the commission also charge the businessman with bribery. KPK has so far treated Probosutedjo as a witness in the case, the first to implicate the previously untouchable Supreme Court.
Separately, National Resilience Institute (Lemhanas) governor Muladi called on Bagir, and Justices Parman Suparman and Usman Karim to be suspended, pending the KPK investigation into their involvement in the matter.
"They must be suspended and demonstrate their manners as the investigation and questioning are not related to their capacity as individuals," he said.
KPK investigators have arrested Probosutedjo's lawyer Harini Wijoso and five officials of the Supreme Court for their alleged involvement in the verdict-buying scam. The KPK also confiscated some US$400,000 and Rp 800 million, which is believed would have been paid to win the appeal case.
Harini told him that Rp 1 billion would be paid to court employees, and the remaining Rp 5 billion to Bagir.