Court rejects annulment of Akbar investigation

JAKARTA (JP): The South Jakarta district court dismissed a suit on Monday filed by Kurnia Ananda against the National Police headquarters for suspending its investigation into Akbar Tandjung whom the plaintiff alleged had falsified land deeds.

The court maintained that the suit was invalid since it involved a case which exceeded the 12-year limit as stipulated in the Criminal Code.

Presiding judge Poernowo said the police's decision to suspend the investigation was legal as "the case reported by the plaintiff is statute-barred."

The court pointed to Article 78 paragraph 1 of the Criminal Code which states that a case can no longer be tried if more than 12 years after the occurrence.

Kurnia first filed a report in 1983 against his uncle, Akbar who as state minister for public housing has allegedly falsified documents on a 23-hectare plot of land in Srengseng, Kebun Jeruk in West Jakarta.

Kurnia claimed that the land belonged to Akbar's elder brother, the late Dato Usman Zahiruddin, Kurnia's father.

However in 1994 the South Jakarta district court dismissed the case.

A year later Kurnia again filed a report with the police.

After repeated attempts to push the police to continue their investigation, Kurnia then brought the case to the National Ombudsman Commission in November 2000.

Under the advice of the Commission, police reopened the investigation and even summoned Akbar, who was by then speaker of the House of Representatives, for questioning.

But on June 15 police suspended their investigation citing that it was statute-bared.

Kurnia then filed a lawsuit challenging the police's decision to suspend the investigation on July 9.

Following the verdict Andi Wahyudin, Kurnia's lawyer, said his client would appeal the case.

"There seems to be a systematic effort to protect Akbar," Andi charged. (06)