Fourth Bapindo trial: State versus Subekti
By Rudy Madanir
JAKARTA (JP): The government is increasing the tempo in its endeavor to prosecute all of the people believed responsible for bringing Bapindo to the verge of collapse.
After achieving a corruption conviction against a junior Bapindo executive, the state is scheduled today to arraign Subekti Ismaun, the bank's former president, in the South Jakarta District Court.
He will be the fourth person to be tried in connection with the Rp 1.3 trillion ($620 million) loan scandal at the government-owned bank.
Maman Suparman, formerly deputy manager of Bapindo's Jakarta branch, has already been sentenced to nine years imprisonment by the same court. Eddy Tansil, the businessman at the center of the scandal, is facing the possibility of life imprisonment in his trial at the Central Jakarta District Court. The trial of Towil Heryoto, a member of Bapindo's board of directors during Subekti's time, has just began in South Jakarta.
Two other former Bapindo directors are also expected to be arraigned soon: Sjahrizal and Bambang Kuntjoro.
Legal battle
As in the cases of the three first defendants, the trial of Subekti Ismaun has all the elements of a highly charged legal battle, from the amount of money involved, the possibility that the case is tied to senior government officials, and no less important, the players in the courtroom battle themselves.
The following is a brief synopsis of the backgrounds of some of them:
Soedjatman: The presiding judge:
Soedjatman is the chief of the South Jakarta District Court.
The 59-year-old man who hails from Blora, Central Java, has clocked 35 years as a judge.
His court career dates back to 1959 in Pati, Central Java, where he served before he was posted in Rembang, Central Java, in 1970, Kudus, Central Java, in 1979 and then in Denpasar, Bali, in 1984, when he was made chief of the district court. Two years later he became chief of the court in Palembang, South Sumatra, and in 1991 he took over the South Jakarta District Court.
He studied law at Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta and obtained his master's degree at Diponegoro University in Semarang, Central Java, in 1967.
His most celebrated cases involve convicting foreigners on drug charges during his stint in Bali. He also handled a major timber smuggling case in Palembang.
Soedjatman will be assisted by judges Pieter Purba and Stefanus Soetrisno during the trial.
Amir Syamsuddin: Subekti's lawyer:
Born in Ujungpandang in 1941, Amir Syamsuddin is a well-known lawyer produced by the University of Indonesia.
After doing a stint at a law firm led by O.C. Kaligis, Amir moved on to establish his own firm in 1983.
Amir, who is also a former entrepreneur, is well known as a corporate lawyer.
Amir will be assisted by Henry Yosodiningrat, another prominent lawyer.
Born in Lampung in 1954, he has earned a reputation as a lawyer who handles subversion cases, such as the bombing of Bank Central Asia in the early 1980s. He also defended two students among the group of 21 students who were accused of defaming President Soeharto recently.
Subekti's defense team will also include Nurhasyim Ilyas, Atmajaya Salim, Edinas Sikumbang and Taufik Arizar.
Tarwo Hadi Sadjuri: The chief prosecutor:
Tarwo Hadi Sadjuri, 49, is a specialist in prosecuting corruption cases.
An alumni of the school for judges and prosecutors, he graduated from the school of law of Brawijaya University in Malang, East Java, in 1981.
Hailing from Nganjuk, East Java, Tarwo began his career as a government prosecutor in Kediri, East Java, in 1967. He then moved to Surabaya, Wamena, Irian Jaya, and East Kalimantan. Beginning last year, he joined the Corruption Crimes Division of the Attorney General's Office.
Considered successful in prosecuting a businessman on tax evasion charges in Tangerang, West Java, several months ago, Tarwo was appointed chief prosecutor in the Subekti case.