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)