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