Mulyana's arrest a trap: Lawyers
Eva C. Komandjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) defended on Sunday the arrest of General Elections Commission (KPU) official Mulyana W. Kusumah accused of trying to bribe a civil servant, as his lawyers claimed their client was trapped into bribery.
Mulyana, also a noted criminologist and human rights activist, is now being detained at Central Jakarta's Salemba Penitentiary after being nabbed in a hotel on Friday during a meeting with the civil servant from the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK).
The arrest occurred when the KPK's was looking into the alleged misuse of some Rp 301 billion from last year's general election funds, which were being audited by the BPK.
Eggi Sudjana, one of Mulyana's lawyers, told The Jakarta Post on Sunday his client was invited to meet the civil servant, identified as Oeriansyah, the BPK head of the sub-commission in charge of auditing the KPU funds, in a hotel in West Jakarta area at 8 p.m. on Friday.
"Mulyana did not bring any money with him. When he entered the hotel room, the money was already there in the form of Rp 50 million (US$5,550) in cash and four travelers cheques worth Rp 25 million each. How could the KPK accuse him of bribery if he did not bring any money?" he said.
Eggi said Mulyana and Oeriansyah had not begun to discuss anything, when KPK members suddenly barged into the room and arrested Mulyana while presenting an arrest warrant.
"How could the KPK prepare an arrest warrant, when they said they caught Mulyana red-handed attempting to bribe a civil servant?" the lawyer questioned.
"The meeting was just a trap set by the KPK and BPK to apprehend my client. It is not allowed under the Criminal Procedures Code," Eggi argued.
He said he praised KPK's efforts in fighting corruption and arresting people involved in the crime, but slammed the way the commission nabbed Mulyana.
"I will submit a request for a pre-trial hearing against the false procedures used to arrest my client," Eggi said.
Separately, deputy KPK chairman Erry Riyana Hardjapamekas insisted that the arrest did not contravene any legal procedures, saying his commission has special privileges to investigate major graft suspects as stated in Article 12 of Law No. 30/2002 on the KPK.
Asked to counter Eggy's arguments, Erry declined to comment, but promised to provide further clarification in a news conference scheduled for Monday.
Erry said the KPK charged Mulyana with bribery based on Law No. 31/1999 on corruption eradication, which carries a prison sentence of between one and five years as well as a fine of up to Rp 250 million if the accused is found guilty.
When asked whether the KPK would follow up the case by arresting other KPU members soon, Erry simply said he would wait for the results of Mulyana's questioning.
Meanwhile, BPK member Baharuddin Aritonang said he had no knowledge of Friday's meeting between Mulyana and Oeriansyah, but added that Oeriansyah's superior, Hasan Bisri, may have been aware of the meeting.
"Tomorrow (Monday) we will have a meeting at the BPK office to hear Hasan Bisri's explanation about the meeting," Baharuddin told the Post.
He refused to reveal whether the BPK had found indications of corruption in the KPU, saying his office was still investigating the case.
The BPK and KPK were working together as a team to uncover graft cases, Baharuddin added.
Earlier, a coalition of non-governmental organizations accused the KPU of involvement in a markup in the procurement of election materials that inflicted some Rp 375 billion in losses on the state.
It alleged that the KPU spent Rp 204.62 billion, or a 616 percent increase in its original budget of Rp 28.5 billion, to distribute the materials.
The arrest of Mulyana could taint the reputation of other KPU members -- Nazaruddin Syamsuddin, Ramlan Surbakti, Chusnul Mar'iyah, Valina Singka Subekti, Anas Urbaningrum, Daan Dimara and Rusadi Kantaprawira as well as Minister of Justice and Human Rights Hamid Awaluddin, a former member of the KPU.