Hearing of Sutiyoso lawsuit begins

JAKARTA: The South Jakarta District Court began hearing on Tuesday Governor Sutiyoso's lawsuit against activist Irma Hutabarat over the alleged misuse of charity funds.

The trial was adjourned for a week because of the absence of lawyers representing Irma, the chairwoman of the Institute of Civic Education on Indonesian (ICE on Indonesia).

The suit accuses ICE on Indonesia of misusing Rp 3.65 billion (US$4.3 million) that was collected in 2002 for the Bang Yos and Jakarta Residents Care for Education program.

An audit completed by Brikbey Hamdan indicated that ICE on Indonesia had used some of the money to purchase Bank Indonesia certificates, which were deposited in an HSBC bank. The remaining funds were deposited in an account at Lippo Bank. -- JP