Marzuki to appeal ruling on Djoko

Marzuki to appeal ruling on Djoko

JAKARTA (JP): Attorney General Marzuki Darusman said on Friday
his office would file an appeal with the Jakarta High Court over
the South Jakarta District Court's recent decision to drop the
indictment of Djoko S. Tjandra, a suspect in the Rp 546 billion
(US$73.7 million) Bank Bali scandal.

"There will be no changes to the content of the indictment.
We'll soon submit the dossiers to the Jakarta High Court," he
said at his office, adding that the dossiers were ready to be
filed with the high court.

After receiving the appeal, the Jakarta High Court will decide
within 14 days whether to uphold or overrule the district court's
ruling. If the lower court's ruling is overruled, the high court
will then hear the high-profile case.

Commenting on the unfavorable response from the international
community to the district court's ruling, Marzuki said his office
would do its best to have the district court's ruling reexamined
by the high court.

"The ruling is not yet final. We'll use the chance to appeal
to the high court," he said.

Minister of Law and Legislation Yusril Ihza Mahendra said the
district court's ruling had caused apprehension among foreign
investors.

"I was questioned several times by some foreign parties over
the ruling. And I convinced them that the ruling is not final,"
Yusril said at his office.

Yusril did not name the foreign parties, but he was likely
referring to a query by the World Bank on Tuesday.

Presiding judge Soenarto ruled in a pretrial hearing on Monday
that the judges did not have the authority to hear the case,
saying the matter should be heard by judges in a civil case.

Yusril said the ruling could destroy the government's
credibility in the eyes of foreign investors, who saw the
government as being responsible for the verdict.

"The verdict has nothing to do with the government. The
government could not interfere with the verdict since we have a
system which separates the authority of the judicial and
executive institutions," he said.

He supported calls for an investigation of the judges and
prosecutors in the case, a move which is believed would reveal
whether the judges and prosecutors received bribes or were
pressured by outside parties.

"Attorney General Marzuki Darusman promised me on Thursday
that he would question the prosecutors about how they prepared
the indictment," he said.

Yusril said his ministry would propose an investigation of
the judges involved in the case if it could find any indications
or evidence of corruption behind the verdict.

"We can propose the establishment of a team to investigate the
case, whose members will come from both the Supreme Court and the
ministry," he said.

The Bank Bali scandal centers on the transfer of Rp 546
billion from the bank to PT Era Giat Prima, of which Djoko is an
executive. The money was paid as a commission for the company's
services in assisting the bank in recouping some Rp 904 billion
in interbank loans on closed banks under the control of the
Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency.

Part of the money is believed to have been transferred to
Golkar Party to finance the presidential campaign of then
president B.J. Habibie.

Separately, the director general for judiciary and state
administrative courts at the Ministry of Law and Legislation,
Parman Suparman, rejected the idea of transferring presiding
judge Soenarto.

"I don't have any plans to move him to another place, since he
was just moved to the South Jakarta District Court," he said at
his office, adding that Soenarto, who is also the head of the
district court, has been at the district court only since last
year. Parman said a judge usually served at a district court for
two years.

Soenarto was also the presiding judge in the case of the land
exchange deal between the State Logistics Agency and wholesale
firm PT Goro Batara Sakti. The deal allegedly involved former
president Soeharto's youngest son Hutomo Mandala Putra, who was
cleared of all charges by the court. (asa/01)