Court chief refuses to shift judge on graft case

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The legal processing of two alleged corruptors dragged on as the Central Jakarta District Court chief rejected a request from the chief of the Central Jakarta Prosecutors' Office to replace the presiding judge.

In his letter, which arrived in the hands of chief prosecutor Salman Maryadi on Friday, court chief Mohammad Saleh said that there was insufficient legal reason to approve the request.

However, he did not cite the precise law involved.

The prosecutors' office made the request to replace Amiruddin Zakaria following an incident on May 7 when the judge refused to hear Oei Hoei Tiong, an executive from the central bank, who was presented as an expert witness by prosecutor Arnold Angkouw.

Oei was supposed to testify against now-defunct Bunk Umum Nasional's (BUN) director Leonard Tanubrata and vice commissioner Kaharuddin Ongko, who are charged with misusing Rp 6.7 trillion (US$670 million) of Bank Indonesia emergency loans disbursed between November 1997 and April 1998.

Amiruddin made the rejection following the objection of the defendants' lawyers who said Oei was also implicated in the case. He then adjourned the hearing for an indefinite period after Arnold insisted on filing a request to replace Amiruddin.

In his letter, Saleh said the prosecutor could ask the panel of judges, including members Andi Samsan Nganro and I Ketut Gede, again to allow him to present the witness.

Salman, however, refused to accept the court's decision, saying that he would complain to the Jakarta High Court.

He told The Jakarta Post that Amiruddin should be replaced for being biased in handling the case.

"During the hearing he appeared to have taken sides with the defendants. If he continues to lead the hearing, the prosecutors, who represent the state, would not be able to argue properly about the indictment in the hearing," Salman said.

Amiruddin said that he had based his rejection on a circular from the Supreme Court instead of the Criminal Code Procedure, as the highest legal authority in a criminal hearing, said Salman.

Amiruddin last year ordered the postponement of the detention of Leonard and Kaharuddin on Aug. 10, shortly after prosecutors handed over the case to the court.

He is also the presiding judge in the case in which Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra is accused of ordering the assassination of a Supreme Court judge and the corruption case involving House of Representatives Speaker Akbar Tandjung.

Amiruddin released Akbar from detention last month.

Meanwhile, legal observer Harkristuti Harkrisnowo said that the judge should have given unbiased consideration to both the prosecutors and the defense lawyers.

"The judge must not favor one party only. The judge must consider whether the lawyer's objection is supported by evidence, otherwise his decision will be questionable," she said.

Separately, Judge Andi, who is also the court spokesman, said that the court would continue the hearing next week despite the dispute.

"We shall see whether the prosecutors attend the hearing or not. The presiding judge will decide later (whether to continue or to suspend the hearing)," he told the Post.