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