Former mayor declared graft suspect

BANDA ACEH: The prosecutor's office announced on Monday that Banda Aceh's former mayor Zulkarnain was a suspect in an embezzlement case involving Rp 3.5 billion (US$411,765).

Pribadi Suwandi, a prosecutor investigating the case, said Zulkarnain was still at large. Sources said he had already fled to Jakarta on Jan. 7, aboard a Jatayu Airline flight.

The prosecutor said that the case began in 2002, when the Banda Aceh mayoralty received People's Economy Empowerment (PER) funds amounting to Rp 10 billion.

Instead of channeling all the Rp 10 billion funds into development, Zulkarnain allegedly put Rp 3.5 billion into his own bank account.

If found guilty he could face a maximum jail sentence of 20 years.

The prosecutor's office said local official Tarmidzi and PER head T. Surya were also suspects in the case. The two are being held in the province's Keudah Penitentiary. -- JP