Lack of translator makes court reject Basuki marriage license
JAKARTA (JP): Lawyers of Nataya Nareerat, the Thai widow of maestro painter Basuki Abdullah, failed to produce an official Indonesian translation of her marriage document claiming that no one in Jakarta is authorized to translate the Thai language.
"I have a letter from the city administration stating that there are no official Thai language translators in Jakarta," lawyer Eddy Danuwidjaja told the South Jakarta district court Tuesday.
Eddy presented the letter, signed by City Administration Secretary Harun Al Rasyid, to presiding judge Moegihardjo.
In his will, Basuki left his "wife," Nataya with very little of his massive estate.
His lawyer, Siti Zaitin Noor, recently went public with the will and claimed that Nataya is not Basuki's wife since they were never legally married.
Before the court could announce its decision on the executor of Basuki's estate two weeks ago, Eddy lodged an objection and then introduced a marriage license in Thai along with a supporting document from the Thai embassy here in Jakarta.
But Moegihardjo demanded that the marriage documents be translated into Indonesian by a sworn translator before they could be admissible as evidence to verify Nataya's marriage to Basuki.
Siti Zaitin Noor blasted the failure to produce a proper translation and demanded to see irrevocable proof of the marriage.
"Where is the original license? Show it to me. I want to the real one and not just a copy," she said.
Basuki, one of the country's most distinguished painters, was murdered during a robbery on Nov. 5, 1993 at his home on Jl. Keuangan Raya 19, Cilandak, South Jakarta.
Each of the three men found guilty of taking part in the painter's murder have been sentenced by the South Jakarta District Court to between 10 and 15 years in prison.
Although the police were able to solve the mysterious crime quickly, controversy still looms as contending parties have begun a struggle to control Basuki's estate.
According to Siti Zaitin Noor, unknown to anyone in the family, the late painter had written a new will signed at a public notary just a few months before his death.
In the will, the painter divides the bulk of his estate between three parties: Saraswati Kouwenhoven, Cicilia Sidhawati and the Indonesian government. Saraswati is Basuki's daughter by his Dutch wife while Cicilia is Basuki's daughter from Nataya.
Rp 6 billion
The estate is estimated at over Rp 6 billion (US$2.78 million), including some 60 paintings in his collection and two houses, one at Jl. Keuangan and the other at Shangrila Indah, Ciledug, Tangerang.
Not only did Siti Zaitin Noor say that Nataya is not Basuki's wife, she went on to say that Cicilia Sidhawati is not his natural daughter but an adopted child.
She said these accusations are based on Basuki's own confession, adding that after checking with the Indonesian embassy in Bangkok, Thailand, she found no proof that the marriage was ever registered.
The fact that Nataya is not mentioned as "my wife" but rather as "a women...Thai citizen, who temporarily lives at Jl. Keuangan 19" raises a question on the status of her marriage to Basuki.
Concurrently, the will does not mention Cicilia as "my daughter" but as "a university student."
The will appoints former minister of education and culture Fuad Hasan as executor of the estate, but Fuad declined, maintaining he was never approached by the deceased on the matter.
With Fuad's rejection, Siti Zaitin Noor then had to find a new executor and asked the South Jakarta court to appoint Saraswati to the position.
The trial was adjourned until next Thursday.(mds)