Mulyana's trial imminent: KPK

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.