Ginandjar to be questioned Thursday

Ginandjar to be questioned Thursday

JAKARTA: Former mines and energy minister Ginadjar
Kartasasmita will be questioned on Thursday as a suspect in an
alleged graft case involving the Technical Assistance Contract
(TAC) between sate oil company Pertamina and PT Ustraindo Petro
Gas.

"We sent him (Ginandjar) the summons on Thursday," spokesman
for the Attorney General's Office Barman Zahir said on Friday.

He said the questioning was originally scheduled for Monday or
Tuesday.

It was the first questioning for Ginandjar, who is a deputy
People's Consultative Assembly speaker, since the South Jakarta
District Court ordered his release from detention on the grounds
of unlawful arrest in April last year. The Supreme Court has
issued an opinion that the arrest was indeed lawful.

The questioning will be conducted by a joint team of military
and state prosecutors as Ginandjar was an active duty military
officer when the alleged crime took place between 1992 and 1995.
The graft caused US$24.8 million in state losses.

Two of the suspects, former Pertamina president Faisal Abda'oe
and Ginandjar's successor Ida Bagus Sudjana have died. The other
suspect Praptono Tjiptohupojo is currently being treated for
heart disease. -- Antara