KPK quizzes Probosutedjo, justice

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) questioned on Monday businessman Probosutedjo, the half-brother of former president Soeharto, for the second time in connection with bribes he paid to judges and prosecutors to escape prosecution.

Up until Monday evening, there was no official explanation regarding the substance of the questioning. The commission's deputy chairman Erry Riyana Hardjapamekas said earlier Probosutedja would undergo "advanced questioning".

Probosutedjo claimed he was the whistle-blower in the bribery case, and said therefore he deserved protection as a witness. He had said he was extorted and spent a total of Rp 16 billion (US$1,6 million) to evade prison.

The KPK investigators also quizzed Supreme Court Justice Usman Karim, one of the three judges hearing Probosutedjo's appeal case. The questioning followed a search of his office and the offices of Chief Justice Bagir Manan and Justice Parman Suparman by KPK investigators last week.

Separately, state prosecutors questioned former lawyers of Probosutedjo at the Attorney General's Office in a bid to seek evidence of their client's statement that he had also paid bribes to prosecutors.

Sonny J. Lumantow and Richard Marbun, who represented Probosutedjo when he was prosecuted by a district court, denied their former client's claim that he had bribed judges and prosecutors through the lawyers.

"His statement is not true. He gave us only a fee, it was not used to bribe anyone. Maybe Pak Probo does not remember," Sonny said after the questioning.

Sonny claimed that Probosutedjo had agreed to pay Rp 8.75 billion in legal fees for a dozen lawyers from his law office to represent him in four separate cases.

"He only paid us Rp 5.12 billion. He hasn't paid the rest. If he said there was money to bribe prosecutors, which money was that? He hasn't even paid all of the legal fees," he told reporters.

Probosutedjo has also failed to fulfill his promise to buy two houses worth Rp 1.7 billion each and two cars for him and Richard, Sonny said.

Probosutedjo was supposed to face questioning at the Attorney General's Office on Monday. But his lawyer, Arizal Boer, said his client would respond to the summons only if the questioning was held to seek clarification from his client.

At the Supreme Court, Jakarta High Court judges Samang Hamidi and Sri Sumartinah were interrogated over the bribes they allegedly received from Probosutedjo. Both judges were members of a panel of judges who heard the businessman's first appeal.

The panel halved the four-year sentence handed down by the Central Jakarta District Court against the businessman for misuse of reforestation funds that cost the state some Rp 100 billion.

Justice Djoko Sarwoko, who questioned Samang, said no evidence had been found so far regarding the bribes paid by Probosutedjo to the judges.