Military adopts wait-and-see stance on fake money case
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)