Court rules Mulyana trial to go ahead
Court rules Mulyana trial to go ahead
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The Anticorruption Court has rejected initial defense arguments
on behalf of General Elections Commission (KPU) member Mulyana W.
Kusumah, a defendant in a high-profile bribery case.
The court also rejected his lawyers' request that he be
released from custody and instead placed under house arrest.
The court said that the prosecution appeared to have a strong
case against Mulyana arising out of an alleged attempt to bribe
an auditor from the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK), and had laid
their charges in accordance with the Criminal Law Procedures
Code.
After throwing out the defense submissions, presiding judge
Masruddin Chaniago adjourned the trial until Monday to hear
witness testimony, including that of BPK auditor Khairiansyah
Salman.
Masrudin ordered Mulyana to remain in detention so as to
facilitate a smooth trial.
Mulyana said he would petition the court again for house
arrest at a later date.
"There is no problem with the decision. I will file a similar
request on another occasion," Mulyana said after the hearing.
Mulyana has been in detention since his arrest in April by
Corruption Eradication Commission investigators, who caught him
red-handed attempting to bribe Khairiansyah with Rp 300 million
in an apparent bid to influence the results of a BPK audit on the
use of election funds by the KPU.
He is now being tried on corruption charges carrying a maximum penalty of
five years in jail and/or a maximum fine of Rp 250 million should
he be found guilty.
Since his arrest, he has implicated other KPU officials in a
widening corruption scandal.
In an earlier court session, Mulyana testified about a series
of graft cases allegedly involving state auditors, including
Khairiansyah.
Mulyana said Khairiansyah, who leaked the information on
Mulyana's alleged bribery attempt, received Rp 750,000 per week
from the KPU. An audit team from the BPK had also allegedly been
receiving Rp 11 million on a monthly basis from the KPU since
January 2005.
Separately, KPU chairman Nazaruddin Syamsuddin, who is
standing trial on corruption charges arising out of an insurance
scheme for all KPU officials, sought the court's permission to
seek treatment for what he claimed was coronary heart disease.
"I have submitted a request from Pak Nazaruddin to the
Anticorruption Court for permission to undergo acupuncture
therapy at the Pondok Indah General Hospital once a week,"
Nazaruddin's lawyer Hironimus Dhani said on Monday.
Hironimus said that former KPU secretary-general Safder Jussac
should have known about the direct appointment by his client of
the insurance company as Jussac signed the decree on the
company's appointment on June 25, 2004, before his client
approved the deal five days later.
Nazaruddin is accused of directly appointing PT Bumida
Asuransi, instead of putting out the project to competitive
tender. He also allegedly received US$45,000 in kickbacks from
the insurance company.
Also on Monday, the court resumed hearing the graft case
involving acting KPU secretary-general Sussongko Suhardjo.
Monday's session was given over to the hearing of prosecutors'
responses to the earlier defense pleas.
Prosecutor Suwarji said the charges met the legislative and
substantive requirements as they clearly identified the defendant
and explained his role in the case, the place where the crime
occurred and the time when it happened.
The prosecution urged the court to reject the defense
arguments and continue the trial. The court will give its
response to the defense pleas on Thursday.