Mulyana's trial imminent: KPK
Wahyoe Boediwardhana, The Jakarta Post/Denpasar
The trial of General Elections Commission (KPU) member Mulyana W. Kusumah is within sight after the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) announced on Friday the completion of its probe into alleged bribery involving him.
Deputy KPK chief Tumpak Hatorangan Panggabean said Mulyana's case file would be sent to the prosecutors, who will then prepare an indictment against him.
"I don't have the report yet, but KPK investigators are scheduled to submit the case file today to the prosecutors," Tumpak told reporters at Bali Police Headquarters.
It is expected that the court will receive the case file within the next five days, and it will then set a date for the trial to begin.
All cases handled by the antigraft body will be heard by the special anticorruption court.
Mulyana's case will be the third the court will have heard since its inception last December.
Mulyana, who underwent another round of questioning on Friday, has demanded that the court begin his trial in order to enable him to prove his innocence.
He was arrested in March in a Jakarta hotel after being caught red-handed offering Rp 150 million (US$15,800) to a state auditor.
The bribery attempt has implicated other KPU officials, and the KPK has also found indications of their involvement in the illegal acceptance of kickbacks from companies that won tenders to supply election materials last year. The KPK is also investigating possible markups in the procurements.
According to Tumpak, the KPK has been very careful about naming suspects in corruption cases, as once someone is declared a suspect, the investigation cannot be stopped.
That was why nobody had yet been declared suspects in the alleged markups involving the KPU, although the KPK has said that at least seven types of election materials had been affected by markups.
KPU chief Nazaruddin Syamsuddin, acting secretary-general Sussongko Suhardjo and treasurer Hamdani Amin have been named suspects in the acceptance of kickbacks.
"There will probably be more suspects in this case. But some KPU members are still abroad, so we have yet to question them," Tumpak said.
Former KPU member and current Minister of Justice and Human Rights Hamid Awaluddin is currently in Helsinki, and will be questioned as soon as he arrives home.
Asked about Vice President Jusuf Kalla's defense of Hamid, Tumpak said no one would influence the KPK's investigation.
Tumpak was visiting Bali to accompany KPK chief Taufikurahman Ruki who met with law enforcers on the island as part of a supervisory and coordination exercise. The two had earlier visited South Sulawesi and West Nusa Tenggara.
Taufikurahman promised to help accelerate the issuance of presidential consents for the investigation of local administrations and councillors suspected of involvement in corruption.