Few corruption cases reach court

Few corruption cases reach court

BANDUNG: The number of corruption cases investigated and tried
in court was not as high as people presumed, Chief Justice Bagir
Manan said on Monday.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the Supreme Court's
national working meeting in Bandung, West Java, Bagir said most
corruption cases never reached court.

Bagir said his office had examined 149 corruption cases in the
past year, mostly from outside Jakarta.

"Of all the cases that reach the appeal examination, 18 cases
affirmed the verdicts of the lower courts, 11 cases did not meet
formal requirements, and the remainder are still being heard,"
Bagir said.

Indonesia has been named as one of the most corrupt countries
in the world. The courts are also held in low regard.

Bagir said 10 judges and a number of prosecutors were
currently undergoing special training to handle corruption cases.

He said the Supreme Court expected to train 300 judges to
handle corruption cases. -- JP