Councillor barred from leaving town

Councillor barred from leaving town

RANTAU, South Kalimantan: Prosecutors here placed the secretary of the local legislative council here, Muhammad Effendy, under city arrest on Tuesday and named him a key suspect in a graft case involving Rp 3 billion (about US$337,000) in state funds.

The head of the Rantau prosecutor's office, Yusuf Supardi, said investigators had obtained sufficient evidence to declare Effendy a suspect.

The decision was made after the suspect was questioned for around 11 hours on Monday.

Effendy joins Tapin council head Sirajudin Noor as a key suspect in a corruption case involving funds from the regency's 2001-2002 budget.

It was not immediately clear how they are believed to have embezzled the money.

Both councillors have been barred from leaving town without the permission of the authorities. -- Antara