IKAHI leaps to defend Manulife judges

Tiarma Siboro and Berni K. Moestafa, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Indonesian Judges' Association (IKAHI) stepped in to defend three of its members whom a government corruption watchdog suspects of having taken bribes in a controversial bankruptcy case that seriously damaged the already tarnished image of the legal system here.

IKAHI accused the Public Servants' Wealth Audit Commission (KPKPN) on Thursday of prematurely jumping to the conclusion that the three judges had amassed their fortunes through bribery, claiming that this violated the presumption of innocence.

IKAHI chairman Toton Suprapto warned the commission not to lightly make public the wealth of judges or mislead the public into believing judges were corrupt.

KPKPN chairman Jusuf Sjakir denied having done so.

"We're allowed to announce the wealth of public servants, including declaring whether or not they obtained it properly," he told reporters after a two-and-a-half-hour meeting with IKAHI representatives at the commission's office.

He explained that the disagreement between the two bodies had more to do with differences over the "philosophy of transparency."

The KPKPN is investigating the wealth of the three judges who declared Canada-based insurance firm PT Asuransi Jiwa Manulife Indonesia (AJMI) bankrupt last June. The Supreme Court later overturned the ruling on technicalities.

Three separate investigations into the judges have since been launched following widespread public suspicion of bribery. The two others are being conducted by teams from the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, and the Supreme Court respectively.

The investigations have put the wealth of members of the judiciary into the media spotlight, wealth suspected of being illicitly obtained from a legal system a visiting United Nations expert said last month was infested with corruption.

Public servants, including judges, legislators and senior government officials, must declare their wealth to the KPKPN.

One of the judges in the Manulife case, Kristipurnami, drew the KPKPN's attention when it found out she owned undeclared assets of around Rp 1.4 billion (about US$150,000).

She initially told the commission that her assets were worth Rp 1.1 billion, a statement KPKPN officials now label a lie.

The undeclared money is kept in several joint accounts with her daughter in Bank Mandiri.

Last April, Kristipurnami signed a statement saying that her daughter worked for the lawyer who represented a former AJMI shareholder with which Manulife had been locked in a two-year legal dispute.

The document was prepared for the Australian Embassy to allow her daughter to obtain a student visa. In it, she said she had the financial means to support her daughter during her stay in Australia.

Facing public scrutiny, Kristipurnami has now hired lawyers to defend her.

"The KPKPN's examination is still at too early a stage to suggest to the public that Kristi took bribes," said Indra S. Lubis, one of the eight lawyers she has hired.

He said the commission had no "legal facts" to support its claim. "We sense that there is a possibility of libel here," he added, warning that his team might consider suing the KPKPN.

Indra said that Kristipurnami inherited the Rp 1.4 billion from her husband, who told her to save it for their children's education.

"Her husband died in 1993 and left her with US$38,000 in a bank deposit ... over time her interest earnings caused it to grow to Rp 1.4 billion," he explained.

Petrus Selestinus, a KPKPN official who examines the assets of judicial officials, said Kristipurnami should have reported the joint accounts nonetheless.

He said the KPKPN would examine her accounts in Bank Mandiri next week to look for cash inflows other than interest earnings.

"If we find any signs of bribery, we'll hand the case over to the police. This could happen by the end of this month," Petrus said.

Earlier he said that judges earned between Rp 3 million and Rp 7 million a month. However, many judges in big cities were known to spend up to Rp 1 billion in one year on houses or cars, according to KPKPN reports.

Another judge in the Manulife case, Hasan Basri, has reported assets of Rp 1.28 billion, which he claimed he had saved from his earnings since 1969.

But he later admitted to the KPKPN that around 10 percent had come from "gratitude money" litigants had paid him after he had ruled in their favor.