Djoko regranted city arrest status

JAKARTA (JP): The South Jakarta District Court ruled in favor of Djoko S. Tjandra on Tuesday, one of the defendants in the Rp 546 billion (US$78 million) Bank Bali scandal, and regranted him city arrest status.

Djoko is one of the suspects being detained by the Attorney General's Office for his alleged involvement in the scandal.

The Office had granted him the city arrest status from Nov. 9 to Dec. 27., and then extended it from Dec. 28 to Jan. 16. He was accused of breaking the Office's regulation when he reportedly went to Bogor on Jan. 14.

"Witness testimonies and evidence show that the plaintiff was in Jakarta the whole day of Jan. 14 and he did not go to Bogor as the Attorney General's Office has claimed," Judge J.M.T. Simatupang, who presided over the pretrial hearing, said.

Djoko filed a pretrial lawsuit with the South Jakarta District Court last week, demanding the court order his release from the Office's prison and put him under city arrest.

He also demanded the Attorney General's Office pay compensation of Rp 1,000 (14 US cents) if he won the case.

The judge rejected the demand for a compensation, saying that it was exaggerated. (asa)