Former 'TVRI' president Sumita questioned as a suspect in graft case
Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Former president director of cash-strapped state-owned television station TVRI, Sumita Tobing was questioned by the National Police on Wednesday over her alleged involvement in the graft of Rp 14.5 billion (US$1.7 million).
A police investigator, who requested anonymity, said Sumita was summoned due to her involvement in the illegal procurement of several video cameras worth Rp 14.5 billion.
Video cameras capable of shooting broadcast quality footage cost at least Rp 300 million each.
"She was charged for document forgery relating to the procurement of the cameras," the source said.
If convicted Sumita could face a maximum sentence of six years in jail.
The source also said that police had questioned 17 witnesses out of an expected 33 witnesses in the case.
Accompanied by her lawyers, Sumita admitted on Wednesday that she was summoned as a suspect for document forgery.
"I received a summons today for questioning as a suspect. It states that the questioning is over document forgery," she said at the police headquarters before the questioning.
However, she claimed that she did not know the objectives of the investigation, and wanted to clarify the case with the police.
"I don't know who reported the case to the police... I don't know what today's questioning is all about. That's what I want to ask the investigators," she said during a short break in the interrogation.
Sumita was replaced by Hari Sulistyono on April 15 following a conflict between several members of the board of directors and Sumita.
The conflict had peaked when Sumita suspended Sutrimo, the marketing director, Badaruddin, administration and finance director, and two other directors of the television station.
Eyebrows were raised when the positions were filled by directors with little background in the television industry.
Hari's career in journalism, for example, consisted of heading the short-lived Lippostar news portal. Limited experience compared to Sumita's career in television, spanning 30 years.
Enny Anggraeni Hardjanto -- as the director of news and programs -- a position that would normally require vast media experience is a former Citibank vice president.
And Golkar Party secretary general Lt. Gen. (ret) Budi Harsono was appointed as commissioner.
TVRI experienced financial difficulties when the government cut subsidies to the station, following its change of status from perusahaan jawatan (a company financially dependent on the government but allowed to sell ads) to perusahaan terbatas (limited liability company no longer enjoying government subsidies) in April 2002.
The financial problems only got worse, forcing affiliated stations in major cities to halt operations in October last year, like those in Aceh, Lampung, Bengkulu and Central Kalimantan.
Until last year, TVRI -- which has 23 stations and 395 transmitters across the country -- had an annual budget of Rp 150 billion. Of that amount, Rp 70 billion was allocated to pay the salaries of more than 7,000 employees. But the remaining amount was not enough to repair or maintain transmitting equipment, let alone buy or make programs.