Elza admits giving money to witness

Leo Wahyudi S. and Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Elza Syarief, a lawyer for Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra, gave money to Rahmat Hidayat, a witness in Tommy's case, before he testified before the court, it was revealed here on Monday.

"Elza told us that she gave the money to the witness to buy decent clothes for court," said Salikin, the head of a fact- finding team formed by the Indonesian Advocates and Lawyers Association to investigate witness tampering allegations against Elza.

He told reporters at Jakarta Police Headquarters that Elza admitted handing over Rp 1 million (US$107) to Rahmat, but "she didn't feel like she was bribing the witness".

Salikin also said that "is common (for lawyers) to give money to witnesses for transportation".

Rahmat, a former security guard at the Cemara Apartment in Menteng, Central Jakarta, claimed that he was paid Rp 2 million by Elza to lie in court.

Rahmat said that he and two other witnesses, Tatang Somantri and Laimin, were asked by Elza to retract earlier police statements they had made implicating Tommy and to deny that the signatures on the statements were theirs.

"So far, we have yet to determine the truth (of the allegations against Elza)," Salikin said.

The team, established last Friday, has 14 days to complete its investigation.

The city police have announced that Elza will be summoned as a suspect in the bribery of witnesses to lie during Tommy's hearing on April 10. The three witnesses in question were testifying in regard to the charges against Tommy for the possession of firearms and ammunition.

Tommy is also charged with the murder of Supreme Court justice M. Syafiuddin Kartasasmita and flight from justice.

There have also been allegations that Elza attempted to bribe Syafiuddin with Rp 200 million when the justice was presiding over a land scam case involving Tommy. Syafiuddin eventually sentenced Tommy to 18 months in jail for graft.

During last week's hearing of Tommy's case, Syafiuddin's widow, Iwah Setyawati, presented a letter she said was signed by Elza. The letter indicated that Tommy had prepared Rp 100 million for Syafiuddin, Rp 50 million for Elza and Rp 50 million for Iwah.

City police spokesman Sr. Comr. Anton Bachrul Alam said that Elza would be summoned soon.

"However, we must wait for the results from the city police's Forensic Laboratory Center (to check the authenticity of Elza's signature on the letter)," he said.

On Monday, the police summoned four witnesses -- Elza's assistant Zondang Pasaribu and Cemara Apartment employees Beni M. Rabani, Marvin and Riyanto -- to confront Rahmat and Tatang, who are currently in detention at Jakarta Police Headquarters.

Beni declined to comment on the matter, only saying, "I don't know what happened exactly."

Marvin and Riyanto failed to answer their summonses.

The police also plan to summon Nudirman Munir, Tatang's lawyer and a former lawyer of Tommy, next week. Nudirman allegedly told Tatang to leave the city to avoid arrest.

If this allegation is true, Nudirman could be charged with violating Article 221 of the Criminal Code for aiding a criminal or somebody needed for a criminal investigation. The article carries a maximum penalty of nine months in jail.

Meanwhile, Nudirman attended on Monday the first hearing of a pretrial motion he filed on behalf of Rahmat.

During the hearing at the South Jakarta District Court, Nudirman questioned the arrest of Rahmat by the police two weeks after he testified at Tommy's hearing.

The police, he claimed, violated the law by arresting Rahmat without an order from the panel of judges hearing Tommy's case.

However, lawyer Henry Yosodiningrat said Nudirman's argument was not valid.

"The police can arrest a witness suspected of giving false statements to the court without an order from the judges. The police do not require permission if they have evidence," he said.

Henry also slammed Nurdirman, saying Rahmat did not give him the power of attorney to lodge the pretrial motion.

Two weeks ago, Rahmat told reporters he had no idea about the motion, as he had only given Nudirman power of attorney to accompany him during his questioning at the Jakarta Police Headquarters.

According to Supreme Court regulations, power of attorney must be granted for each separate case and motion.

Judge Syamsul Ali suggested that both parties drop the motion. Nudirman agreed if the police released his client, a suggestion rejected by Henry.

The hearing of the motion will resume on Tuesday.