Ex-Gapensi man sued for fraud

Ex-Gapensi man sued for fraud

BENGKULU, South Sumatra: A former local branch chairman of the
Indonesian Builders Association (Gapensi) was accused on Friday
of swindling Rp 37 million in funds belonging to a local
businessman.

Police in Bengkulu said Mai Koh Tjiang had filed a charge with
their office against Rusdianto, the accused former Gapensi
chairman.

They said Mai charged Rusdianto with failing to repay him Rp
37 million borrowed in 1999.

Rusdianto denied the accusation, arguing that Mai gave the
money for sponsoring the reshuffle of Gapensi's leadership, which
then failed to materialize.

But Mai instead got a project in the provincial manpower and
transmigration department, Rusdianto added.

"I have never borrowed money from or cheated him and I will
sue him for libel and defamation" he said.Antara

Three ministers to visit NTB

MATARAM, West Nusa Tenggara Barat: Three ministers are
scheduled to pay a one-day visit to Bumi Gora and Narmada, West
Nusa Tenggara (NTB), on Feb. 6 to inaugurate a local arts market
and meet small-scale businessmen there.

Abdul Malik, a spokesman for the NTB administration, said
Agriculture Minister Bungaran Saragih, Cooperatives Minister
Alimarwan Hanan and Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare
Jusuf Kalla were scheduled to hold a dialog with local
businessmen and craftsmen here.

The high-powered visit is aimed to promote the marketing of
local handicraft products overseas and in the country--Antara.

Fire razes 2 towns despite rain

SAMARINDA, East Kalimantan: Despite rain, fire razed some
houses and shops in two separate accidents in the towns of
Samarinda and Tarakan, East Kalimantan, leaving hundreds of
people homeless.

No casualties were reported.

In Samarinda, at least 42 houses were gutted by a two-hour
blaze early on Friday. Losses and damage were being calculated.

Many victims, who were sleeping at the time of the accident,
escaped the fire to a nearby bus terminal and some others jumped
into river for safety.

A separate fire gutted around 50 houses and shops on Thursday
night in the Tarakan shopping center, causing losses of hundreds
of millions of rupiah.

The gutted buildings included permanent clothes and electronic
shops in the city's largest shopping center.

Despite the rain, it was not that easy to put out the fire.

The local police were investigating what caused the fires.
--Antara

Expo organizer flees with $50m

BATAM, Riau: The Batam police are still looking for
businessman ET who was believed to have escaped to China with
US$50 million he collected from around 5,000 businessmen who had
registered to participate in a planned exhibition of China's
products on the island.

Adj. Sr. Comr. Zulkarnaen, deputy chief of Batam Police
Precinct, said here on Thursday that ET, president of exhibition-
organizing company PT Ca, had escaped to China through Singapore
some time early in January 2002.

"We have coordinated with the National Police Headquarters and
the Interpol to apprehend the suspect," Zulkarnaen said.

He added ET was wanted because he was allegedly involved in a
fraud that had caused huge material losses to the planned
exhibition's participants and tarnished Batam's image.

Zulkarnaen explained the fraud was revealed when Suparman,
ET's local partner, reported the incident to the local police.

Suparman was suspicious when ET went missing and the
exhibition, scheduled to be held at the Batam Center last
December, was postponed for security reasons, he said. He added
that ET had collected Rp 25 million from each of the businessmen
for their participation in the exhibition and hundreds of stands
had been built on the Batam Center for the participants. --Antara