House told to probe Djoko court ruling

House told to probe Djoko court ruling

JAKARTA (JP): Legal observers condemned on Wednesday the
ruling of the South Jakarta District Court to dismiss an
indictment against Djoko S. Tjandra, a main suspect in the high-
profile Bank Bali scandal.

Teten Masduki and Abdul Hakim Garuda Nusantara urged the House
of Representatives to immediately make a thorough investigation
into the judges' ruling, which they considered an affront to
public sentiment.

Another senior legal expert, Antonius Sujata, urged the court
to name new judges and prosecutors for a fresh trial.

All of them agreed that Monday's ruling, read by presiding
judge R. Soenarto, did not conform to logical legal arguments.

"It's outrageous! The ruling could undermine the spirit of
other law enforcers who attempted to fight against corruption in
this country," Sujata, a former deputy attorney general for
special crimes, said.

Mar'ie Muhammad of the Indonesian Transparency Society (MTI)
said law enforcers in the country should not become political
vehicles for the interests of certain parties.

"We have to get back to the law," he said.

Teten, coordinator of corruption watchdog the Indonesian
Corruption Watch, said: "Since the case has come to the public's
attention, the House must take the initiative to probe whether
the ruling was free from intervention by other parties, and also
from corruption, by summoning the judges and prosecutors involved
in the trial."

Abdul Hakim shared the view.

"The controversial ruling has further tarnished the country's
image. Foreigners, particularly investors, might consider that
law enforcement no longer exists in this country."

Teten, Hakim and Sujata concluded that the judges could have
proceeded with a trial on the charge of corruption without having
to drop it on a legal technicality.

"Even a child knows that a cessie contract case should go to a
civil court. But the substance of the case is a corruption case,"
Sujata said.

He insisted that the case of Djoko, an executive of PT Era
Giat Prima (EGP), was a crime.

"How could the judges drop the charge without after studying
the substance of the case and seeing the evidence?"

Teten said there was sufficient evidence to rule it was a
criminal case.

"Djoko, through PT EGP, has enjoyed a big share of money
through the cessie contract, even bigger than Bank Bali, the
party which issued the contract." He said PT EGP earned about Rp
540 billion, while the bank received about Rp 300 billion.

Soenarto and his fellow judges ruled to dismiss the case,
contending there was insufficient evidence of the defendant's
involvement in corruption.

"It's a civil case, not a criminal one," Soenarto said, adding
that only a civil court could rule on the legality of the cessie
contract.

The scandal centers on the transfer of Rp 546 billion from the
bank to PT EGP as a commission for services in assisting the bank
in recouping some Rp 904 billion in interbank loans on closed
banks from the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA).

Part of the money was believed to have been transferred to the
Golkar Party as a slush fund for the presidential campaign of
then president B.J. Habibie.

Many are concerned that the ruling in Djoko's case will be
applied for others implicated in the scandal.

Among the suspects are Setya Novanto, another executive of PT
EGP and a Golkar official, Pande Lubis of IBRA and Rudy Ramli of
Bank Bali.

The World Bank questioned on Tuesday the decision and sought
further clarification.

Teten said the public placed much hope in the court amid the
drive to combat corruption, collusion and nepotism, locally
known by the acronym KKN.

"Another institution which has authority to examine the
ruling, including the judges, is the Supreme Court. But, the
institution has been proven unable to deal with the reform
demand," he said.

Abdul Hakim said it was a time for the country's legal
apparatus to improve its poor image to restore confidence in law
enforcement, especially for foreign observers.

He said it was not too late to put right the error of the
ruling.

"In Djoko's case, the prosecutor should file an appeal, and
the Supreme Court must soon review the ruling," he said.
(asa/bsr)