Doctors say Soeharto still too ill
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.
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