Mulyana's arrest a trap: Lawyers
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.