Lawyers insist Sudomo, Sumarlin testify in court

JAKARTA (JP): A number of legal experts say top government officials Sudomo and J.B. Sumarlin should be asked to personally testify in the upcoming trials of people who have been connected with the 1.3 trillion ($620 million) loan scandal at Bank Pembangunan Indonesia (Bapindo).

The experts, including lawyers for the defense, say there are growing indications that the two men might try to get out of having to testify in court after they each made a sworn statement at the Attorney General's office.

Hotma Sitompul, who has been retained by one of Bapindo directors in the current investigation, said there was no way he could present his defense in the absence of key witnesses such as Sumarlin and Sudomo.

Hotma, who represents Bambang Kuntjoro, said his defense hinges on his ability to cross examine all the witnesses.

Health

Todung Mulya Lubis, a vocal human rights lawyer, said a deposition normally is taken from a witness who cannot be physically present during the appointed trial dates, for such reasons as health considerations or official duties.

"If a witness can attend the trial, he is legally obliged to testify before the court." Mulya said.

He stressed that a written statement, although it may be given under oath, implies a weak legal position and can be outweighed by oral testimony in court.

Written testimony in the absence of a witness is weak from a legal standpoint. This is because it creates doubts in the mind of the judge that the witness would be able to stand up under cross examination from the opposing side.

The first two Bapindo trials will begin in the next two weeks. The defendants are Eddy Tansil, the owner of the Golden Key Group and Maman Soeparman, formerly deputy manager of Bapindo's branch in Jakarta. Tansil's trial is set to begin on Tuesday and Maman's trial will start on the following Monday.

Four other Bapindo directors -- Sjahrizal, Towil Heryoto, Subekti Ismaun and Bambang Kuntjoro -- are currently under investigation.

Sudomo, currently the chairman of the Supreme Advisory Council, and Sumarlin, the chairman of the Supreme Audit Agency, have been implicated in the scandal for their connections to loans extended by Bapindo as far back as 1989.

Reference

Sudomo wrote letters of reference to help Tansil secure loans from Bapindo while Sumarlin, who was then the finance minister, allegedly put pressure on the Bapindo directors to extend the loans to Tansil, irrespective of whether or not he was creditworthy.

Both men, along with former junior finance minister Nasrudin Sumintapura, all gave their depositions to the Attorney General's office last month amidst strong public pressure to bring them to bear for these allegations.

Justice Bismar Siregar concurred that their presence in the court was vital in the search for the truth of the matter.

In any trial, a dialog between the prosecutor, the judge, the lawyer and the witness in a trial is important, he told The Jakarta Post.

"A person should still make the effort to testify before the court even if he has already given statement under oath," he said. "The only exception is if he is ill."

Mulya said there was no reason why the courts could not summon Sudomo, Sumarlin and Nasrudin to testify, given the fact that President Soeharto himself has said they should all cooperate with the investigation of the case.

"Nobody is above the law," he said, adding that if these three men were prevented from attending the trials because of state affairs, an alternate time should be found.

However, Suhardi, the chairman of the legal commission of the House of Representatives (DPR), disagreed with the majority opinion. He stressed that a deposition would be sufficient because it had been given under oath.

"By regulation, a person who has testified under oath does not have to physically attend the trial." Suhardi said.

He said the judges trying the case should make the decision whether or not to summon the witnesses.

Bismar also agrees that the judges will play an important role in deciding who will be called as a witness.

"The judges must not see the case from only one point of view. They must include all parties' interests in this case." Bismar said.

Officials did not rule out the possibility that Sudomo, Sumarlin and Nasrudin would be prosecuted, pending the outcome of the investigation and the upcoming trials.

Petisi 50

On Tuesday the Petisi 50, a loose organization of former officials who are critical of President Soeharto, said Sudomo should be prosecuted because it was now clear that his letters of reference were pivotal in Bapindo's decision to extend the loans.

Former Jakarta governor Ali Sadikin, a member of the Petisi 50, noted that Sudomo wrote the references using the official stationery, suggesting is was an official policy decision.

Sadikin said if it was not an official decision, then Sudomo had abused his position.

He added that the House of Representatives also look into the legality and ethics of writing letters of reference. (01/prs)