KPK to summon judges over bribery case

KPK to summon judges over bribery case

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) will summon two
judges at the Jakarta High Court as witnesses in a high profile
bribery case allegedly committed by a lawyer of suspended Aceh
governor Abdullah Puteh.

KPK deputy Tumpak Hatorangan Panggabean said on Wednesday that
the two judges would be questioned by KPK investigators within
the next two days.

Tumpak, who visited Attorney General Abdul Rahman Saleh,
however, refused to disclose the names of the judges, detik.com
reported.

The two judges will be questioned in connection with the
bribery case involving Tengku Syaifuddin Popon who was caught
red-handed last month by the KPK paying Rp 250 million
(US$25,773) as a bribe to court clerk Ramadhan Rizal. The case
highlights the rampant corruption in the country's weak court
system.

The bribery was apparently intended to influence an appeal
filed by Popon's client, Abdullah Puteh, who was sentenced to 10
years imprisonment by the Anticorruption Court that found him
guilty of embezzling state money.

The decision to question the two witnesses, Tumpak added, was
based on information and testimony that had been previously
provided by two other people related to the case, Syamsul himself
and another clerk M. Sholeh.

"We just need some cross checking with other witnesses,"
Tumpak said.

The two clerks are currently being detained at the Jakarta
Police Headquarters.

Previously, the KPK also claimed that it had evidence of
involvement of Paulus Effendi Lotulung, head of the Supreme
Court's administrative division, as well as a former staffer at
the Supreme Court's research division Arifin.

The KPK has questioned several people believed to have a part
in the bribe, including Abdullah's wife Linda Purnomo and a
Sumatra Utara High Court clerk Said Salim.