M. Sahid now under city arrest

Theresia Sufa, The Jakarta Post, Bogor

The Bogor prosecutor's office has changed the detention status of deputy mayor M. Sahid to that of city arrest as Sahid, a suspect in a Rp 5.5 million (US$597,826) corruption case, is now receiving medical treatment.

Chief Prosecutor Kornelis Lere said that the city arrest status started on Wednesday and would end on Nov. 25.

"He is suffering from a heart ailment ... We have received a certificate from the Bogor Medical Center Hospital stating that the suspect is an outpatient," Lere said late on Wednesday.

Sahid, who had been detained since Sept. 23, spent a week in hospital but was discharged on Wednesday.

The investigation into the alleged misuse of council funds by Sahid when he was the speaker of the Bogor City Council started in August.

According to Lere, the prosecutors have questioned 50 former councillors as witnesses.

"Every time witness are summoned and show up, they hand us the money that they think they defrauded ... the total amount of money we have received from them so far is around Rp 1 billion and this has been deposited in our office's account at the Bogor branch of BRI bank," he added.

Sahid and other councillors allegedly used public funds from the 2002 budget to cover their personal expenses.