Computer used in RP 7b BI fraud: Witness

JAKARTA (JP): A former Bank Indonesia employee testifying in a Rp 7 billion (US$2.9 million) bank fraud trial said his computer was used to enter fake data into the bank's file.

Witness St. Soeparno, who had worked in the banks' data entry division, told the Central Jakarta District Court yesterday his computer was used by a colleague. He realized it had been misused a month later.

Standing trial is businessman Roy Indra Kusnohadi accused of helping a central bank employee find someone with an account at the bank to receive a fake transfer. He is one of five defendants in the case.

The witness said Ayub Sutarya used his computer saying he wanted to help to enter data.

He said that he might not have let Sutarya use it but at that time there was so much data to process that he let him.

Defense lawyers' asked him if he knew it was dangerous, he said, "I understood that it was dangerous to let somebody use it, but I did not want to make people wait."

He told the court that he gave a numbering tool, which was abused, to Naman Kawi, the head of the bank's cashier's section.

"I gave it to him because he said that he would use it for a transfer to his account," Soeparno added.

Naman, who is being tried separately, is accused of forging a Rp 7 billion transfer form which said that a man called Dahlan had sent the amount to an account at PT Aseam Bank.

The trial was adjourned until next Thursday. (13)