Lack of translator makes court reject Basuki marriage license
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)