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