Former Banten councillors detained

Former Banten councillors detained

Multa Fidrus, The Jakarta Post/Tangerang

Banten prosecutors have detained four former councillors after a
nine-hour questioning session on Thursday over their alleged
involvement in the misuse of Rp 14 billion (US$1.56 million) of
public funds last year.

The suspects are former council speaker Dharmono K. Lawi, his
deputy Muslim Jamaludin, secretary Tardian, and former secretary
of the council's budget committee Tuti Sutiah Indra.

Head prosecutor Kemas Yahya Rahman said one more person
thought to be connected with the case had not yet been detained.
The office had yet to secure a permit to question former deputy
speaker Mufrodi Muchsin, who was now a House of Representatives'
member, Kemas said.

By law, a permit from the Minister of Home Affairs is required
to question and to detain a legislator, something anticorruption
activists have long criticized.

The case regards the misappropriation of a total of Rp 14
billion from the 2003 council budget fund to establish a
councillors' housing compound.

"The suspects were responsible for the budget spending.
However, when the new council members for the 2004-2009 period
started work in October, no trace of the housing compound
existed," Kemas said.

He said prosecutors' investigations would be complete by Dec.
20 and the result submitted to the court.

If found guilty for the offense, the former councillors could
face a maximum of 20 years in prison.

Meanwhile in Tangerang, a graft case involving a former member
of the Tangerang regional council was sent to court on Thursday.

Harun Al Rasyid, of the Justice and Unity Party (PKP), is
accused of misusing a state subsidy of Rp 3.3 billion for
education.

The investigators found the council had required the social
affairs agency, which was supposed to finance the development of
education, to instead funnel the money to each of the 11 council
factions.

"There was never any report on the use of the money that
should have been handed directly to the schools by the agency,"
head fraud squad prosecutor Anwarudin Sulistiyo said.

He did not say whether other councillors would be charged over
the affair.