Councillors grilled over bribery

Councillors grilled over bribery

KENDARI, Southeast Sulawesi: The government prosecutor's office in Kendari, capital of Southeast Sulawesi, grilled four members of the provincial legislative council in connection with the alleged bribery case during the recent gubernatorial election.

L.M. Bariun, Misbahuddin, Chaidid and Abidin Ramly denied taking any bribes from the gubernatorial candidates.

Many councillors, including the four, admitted to receiving financial contributions from Noufal, coordinator of winning governor Ali Mazi's campaign team, but they did not consider the money to be a bribe.

Chief of the government prosecutor's office Abbas Ashari declined to comment on the results of the interrogation.

Reliable sources at the police office, however, said the four were interrogated because of Noufal's confession to the police that he transferred Rp 50 million to the councillors, including the questioned four, to their back accounts prior to the election.

Abidin stated later that he had been interrogated as a witness in the bribery case.

The bribery was revealed by a councillor who was later killed in a traffic accident in Makassar. He admitted to taking a bribe to vote in favor of Ali Mazi. -- Antara