Graft suspect commits suicide

JAKARTA: A former employee of the Customs and Excise Office detained as a suspect for his role in a Rp 71 billion graft case was found dead hanging in his cell at the police headquarters here.

Sutopo, 47, apparently committed suicide by hanging himself using his socks tied to the bars of his cell on Monday. The body was sent to the morgue of the Cipto Mangunkusumo Public Hospital, a morgue staff said Tuesday.

The suspect, an employee at the Customs and Excise Office in Belawan, North Sumatra, had been in police custody following his arrest in October last year after being on the run for 3 months.

He was accused of corruption along with five other people: Rahman Hakim and Arief Dewanto, both are chief senior officers at the Jatinegara branch of Bank Mandiri in Jakarta; Halomoan Gultom, an official at the Ministry of Finance; and three importers, Cece Hermawan, Ismail and Mohammad Hasyim.

The group is accused of siphoning off Rp 71 billion of taxpayers' money. --JP