Economist declared defamation suspect

JAKARTA: Economist Dradjat Wibowo was questioned on Monday as a suspect in a defamation case filed by Adrian Waworuntu, a former main suspect in a Rp 1.7 trillion Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI) scandal.

Dradjat, who will be sworn in as a House of Representatives (DPR) member on Oct. 11, complained, however, that police were too quick to declare him a suspect without examining the content of the news used as a basis by Adrian to file the complaint.

Adrian, who was released from police detention due to lack of evidence to implicate him in the Rp 1.7 trillion scandal, had reported Dradjat to the police for allegedly suggesting that he also took money from BNI Magelang, Central Java branch.

"I never said that Adrian was involved in the scandal. The report of Tempo daily in its Jan. 14 edition, which is being used as a basis for the report, also did not quote me as saying so," said Dradjat. -- JP