More councillors to stand trial on corruption charges
More councillors to stand trial on corruption charges
Nana Rukmana, Cirebon
The Cirebon Prosecutor's Office, West Java, has submitted to the
court the case files on councillors charged with corruption,
after intensively investigating the cases for more than a year.
The suspects, including Cirebon municipal legislative council
speaker Suryana and his deputies, Sunaryo and Haries Sutamin,
will stand trial soon for allegedly misappropriating Rp 1.3
billion (US$145,000) from the 2001 city budget.
Prosecutor's Office head Suraini said over the weekend that
the case files had been handed over to the Cirebon District Court
on Thursday.
"It shows we are committed to eradicating corruption carried
out within my jurisdiction," she said.
Seven other councillors charged were budget committee members
of the council -- Enang Iman Gana, Setiawan, Jarot Adi Sutarto,
Achmad Djunaedi, Agus Sompi, Suyatno HA Saman and Moch. Safari
Wartoyo.
"The suspects have been indicted for violating Law No. 31/1999
on the eradication of corruption," said Suraini.
There was, she said, a possibility that the number of suspects
would increase as the intensive investigation was continuing into
the remaining 20 members of the council.
"Let's wait for the investigation results. The number of
suspects may rise," she added.
Responding to the graft charges, Sunaryo said he and other
councillors were ready to face legal processing. "As a good
citizen, I must hold high the supremacy of the law. I'm ready to
face a court trial," he said.
He said, however, the decision to name the councillors as
suspects was "discriminatory and politically motivated", as no
officials from the Cirebon administration had been charged in the
same scandal.
Sunaryo questioned the reported acquittal of former Cirebon
mayor Lasmana Suriaatmadja and his ex-deputy, Agus Al-Wafier, in
the same case.
Sunaryo said that both the legislative and legislative bodies
were involved in drafting the budget. "But why are only
councillors being held responsible? It was impossible that they
(executives) had not approved the budget, too. It shows that the
prosecutors are not being fair," he added.
He said there were clear indications of political maneuvering
from the prosecutor's move to hand over "hastily" the dossiers to
the court, following a series of student protests.
"The legal process should run independently, without any
pressure whatsoever," he said.
Sunaryo's arguments were denied by Suraini, who said her
office had been working professionally, without pressure from any
party.
She also denied she had acted discriminatorily in determining
the suspects after her office started the probe into the scam in
May 2003.
As many as 30 Cirebon municipal councillors, serving during
the 1999 to 2004 period, had been questioned intensively.
Suraini added the legislators were declared suspects due to
their direct involvement in determining the 2001 budget, which,
she said, had violated existing rules.
The council had allocated Rp 997 million for its operational
funds from the 2001 budget, which allegedly exceeded the
requirements set under Government Regulation No. 110/2000 on the
financial status of regional councils.
"Under the regulation, the funds may not be more than Rp 400
million," Suraini added.
Preliminary investigations indicated that the funds were
misused by the councillors for personal gain, she said.