Military adopts wait-and-see stance on fake money case
JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Military (TNI) is temporarily taking a wait-and-see position following the testimony of a defendant in a Rp 19.2 billion counterfeit money case which indicated the alleged involvement of Army Chief Gen. Tyasno Sudarto in the crime, a senior officer said on Wednesday.
"We will not rush to make comments. TNI will wait for the truth to be revealed in accordance with the due process of law," TNI spokesman Air Rear Marshall Graito Usodo told The Jakarta Post.
As reported earlier, a defendant in the case, Ismail Putra, told a Tuesday hearing at the Central Jakarta District Court that the fake money was produced with the full knowledge of Tyasno, then former chief of the Indonesian Military Intelligence Agency (BIA).
"Everybody is innocent until proven guilty. Charges against the defendant have yet to be proven in court, and, till then, they are just accusations.
"Until the truth comes out, don't let the accused be tried by the general public and the press," Graito said, urging the general public not to politicize Ismail's testimony.
"Such statements made in court, if not treated in a mature fashion, could impact negatively on the person concerned and the institution (he or she) belongs to," the TNI spokesman said.
Tyasno could not be reached for comment but Army spokesman Brig. Gen. F.X. Bachtiar told the Post that Tyasno has told him that he will personally give his side of the case on Thursday in Bandung, West Java.
"There will be a clarification directly from him about the case tomorrow in Bandung," he said.
Tyasno will be in the West Java capital on Thursday to preside over the handing-over ceremony of the Siliwangi Regional Command from Maj. Gen. Slamet Supriyadi to Maj. Gen. Zainuri Hasyim.
Defendant Ismail told the district court on Tuesday that the man he knew as Gen. Tyasno Sudarto was fully aware that the fake money was produced for the interests of TNI and to settle problems in East Timor.
"He sanctioned the process. The (former) BIA chief also visited (defendant) Yustinus Kasminto's house in Palmerah, West Jakarta, where the printing was done."
The production of the Rp 19.2 billion in fake money occurred between July last year and February this year, the defendant said.
Tyasno replaced Gen. Subagyo Hadisiswoyo as Army chief last November. Previously, he served as Central Java Military Commander from April 1998 to January 1999.
And from January 1999 till Nov. 20, 1999, he served as chief of the Indonesian Military Intelligence Service, before being promoted to Army chief.
Ismail, said to be the leader of the counterfeit money ring, was arrested along with nine others at printing company Jaya Abadi Prima in Palmerah, West Jakarta, in February.
The next hearing will be held on Tuesday.
Prosecutor Soejitno said at the previous hearing that the forged Rp 50,000 banknotes produced by the defendants were copies of the 1995 edition which features former president Soeharto.
The defendants, he said, destroyed Rp 15.8 billion of the fake rupiah after they learned it was of poor quality.
The remaining Rp 3.4 billion was taken by two men, he said.
"The first Rp 1.6 billion was found in the possession of defendant A Khui, currently receiving medical treatment, and the other Rp 1.8 billion is thought to still be in the possession of a man, identified as Tyasno Sudarto, "who is still at large," Soejitno said.
The group, he said, printed the bogus money with six serial number prefixes, namely FRM, LZN, LZO, RPM, TWR and YBD.
The prosecutor named the other nine suspects as being A Khui, alias Ardy Sukarman, Yustinus Kasminto, Junie, Eddy Kereh, alleged security coordinator, Ramelan, alleged technician in charge of printing, Bambang, Triyono and Slamet, the reported machine operators, and housemaid Tono. (ylt/dja)