Marunda land deal in process: Witnesses

Marunda land deal in process: Witnesses

JAKARTA (JP): Two witnesses in the Goro land scam case
testified at the South Jakarta District Court on Wednesday that
the appropriation of a 71-hectare plot of land in Marunda, North
Jakarta, had not yet been completed.

The witnesses were Ken Laksono, former finance director of
wholesale firm PT Goro Batara Sakti, and businessman Hokiarto.

Laksono was presented by the prosecutors to testify against
defendant Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra, former president
Soeharto's youngest son, while Hokiarto testified against another
defendant in the case, former Goro president Ricardo Gelael.

"The land appropriation in Marunda was still being processed
when the deal between Goro and the State Logistics Agency (Bulog)
to exchange land was signed in 1997," Laksono said.

According to him, Tommy resigned as president commissioner of
Goro a year before the deal to exchange Goro's plot of land in
Marunda for Bulog's 50-hectare warehouse complex in Kelapa
Gading, North Jakarta, was signed in 1997.

However, Laksono said Tommy signed a memorandum of
understanding about the land exchange in 1995 with Bulog's former
chief Beddu Amang.

Even after resigning his position at Goro in 1996, Tommy
continued to be a major shareholder in the company.

Prosecutor Fachmi said the land exchange was still illegal and
violated existing regulations issued by the Ministry of Finance,
which stipulated that state-owned land could only be exchanged
after compensatory land had been handed over to the state.

Tommy, Beddu and Ricardo were charged with corruption which
cost the state losses amounting to Rp 95.4 billion in the land
exchange deal.

The three were charged under Article 1 (1a) of Corruption Law
No. 3/1971 which carries a maximum punishment of life
imprisonment and a Rp 30 million fine.

Habibie's permit

The court dropped Beddu's indictment because the prosecutor
failed to obtain a letter of permit from President B.J. Habibie
to question Beddu, who is a member of the People's Consultative
Assembly.

In a separate courtroom on Wednesday, Hokiarto, who has been
Bulog's partner in distributing sugar for some 30 years, said he
was asked by Beddu to oversee the appropriation of the land in
Marunda.

"The 71-hectare plot has not yet been fully appropriated.
There are still holes that have not yet been appropriated,"
Hokiarto, who is also the owner of liquidated Bank Hokindo, said.

The witness apparently was referring to the fact that several
small plots of land in the 71-acre Marunda plot had not been
taken over by Bulog.

Hokiarto said he "borrowed" Rp 32.5 billion from Beddu to buy
the land in Marunda because he faced difficulties financing the
appropriation.

He said Goro also lent him Rp 20 billion for the
appropriation.

"I was appointed to handle the appropriation because of my
long relationship with Bulog. Almost everyday I met with Beddu
Amang," Hokiarto, who said he knew Beddu eight years prior to the
latter's installation as Bulog's chief in 1995, said.

Prosecutor Munthe said all of the money used to appropriate
the land in Marunda came from Bulog.

He said Beddu bought part of the land in Marunda with Rp 32.5
billion from Bulog, while Goro used Rp 20 billion provided by
Bulog for the land appropriation.

Goro secured a Rp 20 billion loan from Bank Bukopin with a Rp
23 billion cash deposit from Bulog as a guarantee, he said.

The bank later seized the guarantee when Goro failed to repay
the loan, he said.

According to the law, the land appropriation should have been
the responsibility of Goro alone, Munthe said.

Ricardo's lawyer Bakhtiar Sitanggang said on Wednesday that
the Rp 32.5 billion Bulog provided Hokiarto had nothing to do
with Goro.

"We have not yet completed the land appropriation because
Hokiarto failed to provide the land," Sitanggang said.

Another witness, John Ramses, Goro's former director of
operations, testified on Wednesday that the Confederation of
Indonesian Primary Cooperatives' Association bought all of the
shares in Goro for Rp 76.5 billion last year.

"Eighty percent of the money was for Tommy while the remaining
20 percent was for Ricardo, as the shareholders in Goro," John
said. (jun)