Court drops court official's corruption case

JAKARTA (JP): The South Jakarta District Court dropped on Thursday the case of a Supreme Court official who was tried for allegedly receiving Rp 100 million (about US$8,900) in a payoff to help a lawyer win her client's case.

Presiding judge I Gede Putra Jadnya said the court had decided to dismiss the case because there was no longer a legal basis to prosecute defendant Zainal Abidin.

The judge cited the Supreme Court's decision to annul the Joint Anticorruption Team (TGPTPK), whose report was used by the prosecutor's office to bring the defendant to court, as his reason to dismiss the case.

"The team submitted its report on June 8, while on March 23 the Supreme Court canceled the regulation which was used as a legal foundation for the establishment of the anticorruption team," judge I Gede said.

According to the judge, following its dissolution, the Supreme Court gave 90 days for the anticorruption team to dissociate and settle its administrative matters and it no longer had authority to handle legal affairs.

Amid uproar over an alleged corruption scandal involving former justice Yahya M. Harahap and two service justices Supraptini Sutarto and Marnis Kahar, the Supreme Court in its judicial review last March legally revoked the anticorruption team, which at that time was led by former justice Adi Andojo.

Prosecutor Surung Aritonang told the South Jakarta District Court last month that the Supreme Court Director for Administrative Cases Zainal Agus had received Rp 100 million in bribes from lawyer Maria Leonita Sri Chandra Harumi on several occasions in the period between August 1999 and January 2000 to influence the court to find in favor of Maria's client, Sugito Darsono.

Sugito lost his case against the now-defunct National Land Agency (BPN) over a plot of land and a building on it, located at Jl. Tirtayasa No. 30, South Jakarta, in the lower courts.

Maria also failed to win the case concerning Sugito's dispute against Edy Handoyo over a plot of land and a building, located on Jl. Blitar No. 15, Central Jakarta.

Zainal assured Maria that she would win both her cases because he had a good relation with presiding justice I Ketut Suraputra, who is also a former deputy chief justice.

However, Zainal later told Maria that she had lost the case despite her bribe. Maria then reported the case to the anticorruption team.

"The team has nothing to do with legal matters now," the judge said in his decision to drop the case, as demanded by Zainal's lawyer O.C. Kaligis.

Prosecutor Surung, who had charged Zainal with violating the 1999 anticorruption law, an offense for which he could have been sent to jail for life, said he was not surprised at the court's decision.

"We had anticipated that decision from the beginning," Surung told reporters. (tso)