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.