Court verdict on tax evasion sends ripples to Jakarta

JAKARTA (JP): Another verdict clearing a businessman of tax evasion charges in Surabaya, East Java, last weekend has drawn central government fire, with officials promising a stiff battle all the way to the Supreme Court.

The Attorney General's office announced yesterday that it will bypass the higher court in the cases of three businessmen found not-guilty of tax evasion and go straight to the Supreme Court.

"We'll take the three cases to the Supreme Court and prove that all the charges are true," Attorney General's spokesman Soeparman told reporters.

Judge Sarwono, who is under investigation after allegations that he took bribes from two defendants in tax evasion cases last month, acquitted a third defendant on Saturday.

Sarwono has denied the accusations and firmly defended his decisions. The investigation has delayed his promotion to become chief of the District Court in Medan, North Sumatra.

Sarwono, who presided in all three trials, is currently deputy chief of the Surabaya district court.

Some of the Surabaya press reports have suggested that the new Rp 90 million Toyota Corona he's been driving was paid for by the bribe money.

Director General of Taxes Fuad Bawazier in Jakarta yesterday expressed his disappointment at the latest decision, stressing that he was convinced that the three defendants were guilty.

"But I respect the court's decision," Fuad said.

President Soeharto, who rarely comments on court verdicts, expressed his disappointment with the two earlier cases since they could affect the current official campaign against tax evasion. Tax income has become an important source of government revenue in recent years in place of the dwindling revenues from oil.

Chief Justice Purwoto Gandasubrata on a separate occasion promised that the Supreme Court will give priority to the tax evasion cases because of the controversy surrounding them.

Purwoto however said he was giving the benefit of the doubt to the judges at this stage.

Similar

"The three cases were said to be similar, so that it would have been inconsistent to have expected a different verdict for the third one," he said.

Regarding the allegations that the judges took bribes, Purwoto said they had not been proven. He expressed regret that the allegations by East Java chief prosecutor Martoyo were made without any supporting evidence.

The government has also investigated the public prosecutors dealing with the cases after one of the defendants' lawyers said a prosecutor took bribes from his client.

Soeparman said the verdicts of the Surabaya court do not yet have legal power, since the case will go to the Supreme Court.

The three men are Delip Khumar Gobindram Vasandani, Helmy Nazar Machfudz and Sugiarto, all businessmen in Surabaya.

They were charged with forging tax returns that entitled them to restitution for value added taxes. The government had claimed this resulted in $2.7 million in lost revenue.

The prosecutors have criticized the judges, saying they disregarded key prosecution evidence. (02/icn/emb)