Doctors say Soeharto still too ill

JAKARTA (JP): Soeharto's medical team formally informed the Attorney General's Office on Tuesday that the former president was too sick to face a corruption investigation.

Neurologist Teguh A.S. Ranakusuma in a written statement pronounced Soeharto "physically and mentally unfit" to undergo investigation at the Attorney General's Office.

The statement was presented by Soeharto's team of lawyers led by Juan Felix Tampubolon.

Soeharto failed to show up for questioning on Monday, with his lawyers contending that he was too ill to answer the summons.

The Attorney General's Office immediately demanded a formal medical diagnosis explaining Soeharto's illness.

The office has also considered seeking a second opinion from independent doctors, or alternatively of conducting the investigation at Soeharto's residence.

Tampubolon said the medical team, comprising 23 specialists, could not say if and when the ailing Soeharto would be fit enough to be questioned.

"It's the medical team's authority to decide. In my opinion, although my client can walk and write, he would not be able to understand the substance of the questions," he told reporters at the Attorney General's Office after meeting with the head of corruption affairs department, Chairul Imam.

Soeharto cannot form a full and sensible sentence, he said. "It's very hard for him to communicate. When we talk, his replies are hard to comprehend and are not related to the conversation. You could call it a `disharmony'," Tampubolon said.

He said the lawyers would assist the government investigators in gaining access to Soeharto's medical records if they so wished provided it was permissible according to the medical code of ethics.

Soeharto, who has repeatedly denied allegations that he used his office to amass a fortune for his family during his 32 years in power, was twice hospitalized last year, once for a stroke and later for intestinal bleeding.

The Attorney General's Office last week named him a suspect in a corruption case involving charity foundations he once chaired. (01)