Fourth Bapindo trial: State versus Subekti

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.