Graft indicated in SMP 56 deal

JAKARTA: The Attorney General's Office has found indications of corruption in the land swap deal between PT Tata Disantara, owned by businessman Abdul Latief, and the Jakarta National Education Office.

At the center of the controversial deal is state junior high school SMP 56. The school made headlines when dozens of its students and teachers refused to leave, eventually holding classes outside when the city seized the school on Nov. 17.

"We have enough evidence showing irregularities in the land swap deal," Soehandoyo, an official at the Attorney General's Office, said on Wednesday as quoted by Tempointeraktif.

Soehandoyo declined to name any suspects or to say whether Governor Sutiyoso was implicated in the alleged corruption.

Meanwhile, a group of protesters led by Nurlela, an SMP 56 teacher, demanded that the Attorney General arrest and try the corruption suspects. -- JP