Court drops court official's corruption case

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)