Chief justice defies KPK summons in bribery case

Chief justice defies KPK summons in bribery case

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Supreme Court chief Bagir Manan refused to appear at the
Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) for questioning on Monday
in connection with a bribery case implicating him and former
president Soeharto's half-brother Probosutedjo.

Bagir's deputy for judicial affairs, justice Marianna Sutadi,
said that her boss would be ready to attend a summons only after
he was notified by the KPK about the subject of the inquiry
beforehand.

"If the chief justice knows what the KPK wants, then he will
explain everything," Marianna told the press after a Supreme
Court leadership meeting chaired by Bagir, who refused to speak
to journalists.

During the news conference, she was accompanied by deputy
chief justice for non-judicial affairs Syamsuhadi Irsyad, and
other justices including Iskandar Kamil, Harifin A. Tumpa, German
Hoediarto, Andi Syamsu Alam and Abdul Kadir Mappong.

Marianna declined to confirm whether the Supreme Court
leadership had asked the KPK to send a list of questions that
they wished to ask Bagir.

Separately, the Judicial Commission lashed out at Bagir for
defying the KPK's summons.

"I think asking for lists of questions before giving
statements (to the KPK) is wrong," said Irawady Joenoes, Judicial
Commission coordinator for supervising judges' honor, morality
and conduct.

He said the Judicial Commission would go ahead with its plan
to summon Bagir in relation to the same case.

Despite Bagir's failure to show up, Marianna claimed that the
Supreme Court was still committed to supporting the KPK's inquiry
into the bribery case that allegedly involve Bagir and other
justices and staff of the court.

Bagir, whose offices had been raided by KPK investigators
searching for evidence on the bribery allegations, had earlier
declared that he was ready to be questioned by the commission.

According to the KPK summons handed to Bagir last week, his
questioning was scheduled for Monday morning.

Instead of answering the summons, however, Bagir chose to
chair the Supreme Court leadership meeting at his office to
discuss efforts to "eradicate trading of legal cases within the
courts".

He also summoned justice Usman Karim, who had been questioned
by the KPK over the same case, to his office over media reports
that accused him of receiving Rp 1 billion (US$100,000) from
Probosutedjo through the chief justice's brother living in
Lampung.

Bagir has consistently denied the bribery accusations against
him.

He led a panel of judges, including Usman and Parman Suparman,
who dealt with Probosutedjo's appeal against his corruption
conviction.

Bagir scrapped the panel and set up a new one after the
bribery allegations created widespread public concern.

Probosutedjo has confessed to have disbursed some Rp 16
billion since he was convicted by the Central Jakarta District
Court over a graft case that cost the state some Rp 100 billion
in losses.

Of the funds, Rp 10 billion was apparently paid when his case
was heard at the district court and the appeal courts. Some Rp 6
billion had been given to his lawyer, Harini Wijoso, who
allegedly encouraged him to bribe Supreme Court officials so as
to overturn the two-year jail sentence handed down by the lower
courts.

Probosutedjo said he was told by Harini that Rp 5 billion of
the funds were to be given to Bagir.

The bribery affair was uncovered after the KPK arrested five
employees of the Supreme Court as well as Harini, a judge-turned-
lawyer, and confiscated some $400,000 and Rp 800 million in cash,
which was supposedly going to be used to bribe judges in order to
win the appeal.