Frantic female journos give Puteh run for money

Known for his ability to avoid waiting journalists, Puteh managed to do so again by coming to the KPK offices at 6:30 a.m. when most hardworking Jakarta journalists were still sound asleep.

Given Puteh's well-known evasiveness, journalists decided to split up into groups on Wednesday to cover the four entrances to the KPK offices. They continued their vigil in front of the building even though Puteh's questioning ended at 6.30 p.m., and his lawyers had already left.

At about 9 p.m., Puteh and his adjutants emerged from the building. The awaiting newshounds, of course, surrounded him to hear his comments.

While attempting to shield their boss from dozens of eager hacks, his adjutants hit M. Suharto Assegaf, a reporter for ANTV television, on the forehead. Assegaf suffered minor scrapes.

Some of the journalists, enraged by the incident, shouted "corruptor" while others yelled "thief...thief" at Puteh, who was by this stage struggling to escape from several tenacious female journalists, who were hanging on to him by the jacket and tie in a bid to slow down his escape.

Assegaf said that he would report the case to the Indonesia Television Journalists Association (IJTI). -- JP