Former council speaker to stand trial
Ainur R. Sophiaan, The Jakarta Post, Surabaya, East Java
Former Surabaya Council speaker M. Basuki could be jailed for up to 20 years for the alleged embezzlement of Rp 2.7 billion (about US$303,000) in state funds, prosecutors said during the opening day of his trial in Surabaya on Monday.
Prosecutor Udjijono told the Surabaya District Court that Basuki abused his position as speaker to embezzle money from the city budget between December 2000 and March 2001.
"Based on investigation results, it has become very clear that the defendant has caused losses to the state amounting to Rp 2.7 billion," Udjijono said.
His deputy Ali Burhan and Surabaya's former secretary M. Yasin face the same charges but are being tried separately.
Udjijono said investigators found numerous receipts and minutes of meeting papers that showed Basuki disbursed money from the city budget for illegitimate purposes.
In embezzling the funds, he said Basuki acted alone as well as in cooperation with fellow councillors or former secretary Yasin.
A former councillor of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-Perjuangan), Basuki enriched himself with Rp 218 million from the city budget, the prosecutor said. Ali received Rp 98 million and Yasin Rp 75 million.
The head of the council's finance office received another Rp 5.9 million and the council's 45 members obtained Rp 2.2 billion.
The council members have returned the money but are not facing corruption charges.
Prosecutors charged Basuki with violating Law No 20/2001 on corruption, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years prison.
Unusual for the first hearing of a trial, Basuki's defense team immediately read out their response to the charges.
According to them, the charges were void as prosecutors were unable to tell when Basuki acted alone and when he cooperated with somebody else in committing the crimes. This lack of clarity obscured the charges and thus rendered them void, they claimed.
"We must consider that the defendant acted neither on his behalf nor that of a company, but as a representative of an institution," said one of Basuki's lawyers, Eka Iskandar, in the trial which will be continued on Thursday next week.
Prosecutors have held Basuki under detention since February 25. The former council speaker said his arrest was politically motivated following an internal dispute among the party's elite in Jakarta.
The case followed the council's failed attempt to oust Surabaya mayor Bambang Dwi Hartono last year.
Councillors sought to remove the mayor just three days after he took over the post from Sunarto Sumoprawiro. Sunarto himself was sacked by the council.
The graft scandal has also tarnished the image of the 45- member council, where PDI Perjuangan and PKB are the two largest factions, with 22 seats and 18 seats respectively.