Newspaper reporter tried for faking press card

Newspaper reporter tried for faking press card

JAKARTA (JP): A newspaper reporter was indicted at Central
Jakarta District Court yesterday for faking a press
identification card specially designed for members of the media
covering the general session of the People's Consultative
Assembly (MPR) in March this year.

Prosecutor Sambara Hasbul said the defendant, Minsidi Suharta,
a stringer for Bandung Pos daily, superimposed his picture, name
and employer on a card originally issued for Adhi Kurniawan from
Ipphos photo agency.

Sambara told the court that the 27-year-old defendant forged
the card on the eve of the session which opened on March 1 to
elect a president and vice president.

The forged card gained Suharta access to the Assembly building
and the use of free media facilities, including a facsimile
machine and telephone provided by the committee. Sambara said the
card had been used for eight days before the forgery came to
light. The general session lasted for 11 days.

"The defendant caused losses to the MPR public relations
department because he used the press center facilities during the
general session," Sambara said.

He said the prosecutors had yet to calculate the total losses
caused by the defendant in the three-and-a-half-month old case.

The reporter was charged under Article 263 (1) of the Criminal
Code which carries a maximum punishment of six years in jail.

After the session, Suharta told The Jakarta Post outside the
court that many other reporters had forged general session press
cards.

He said the distribution of press identification cards, the
responsibility of MPR public relations officers, had been
chaotic.

Suharta said he was arrested at the Sahid Jaya Hotel on March
9 when he turned up to interview a member of the Armed Forces'
Faction, Maj. Gen. Agum Gumelar.

There were rumors that Agum, who was in charge of the
Wirabuana Military Command in Ujungpandang, South Sulawesi, at
the time, had been appointed governor of West Java.

Suharta's daily was based in the West Java capital of Bandung
but stopped publishing last Wednesday for financial reasons.

Shortly after his arrest, the newspaper's management denied
being associated with the defendant.

"I'm sure my paper was afraid and thought that I was involved
in a political case," he said.

After his arrest, police charged Suharta with committing a
political activity which could endanger the president and vice
president and for faking the press card.

"But they dropped the first charge for unknown reasons," he
added.

Suharta still believes that he was detained because of his
political activities. He was active member of Pijar Indonesia
youth organization and a frequent participant in demonstrations.

Suharta, accompanied by his lawyers from Jakarta Legal Aid
Institute, said he was once questioned at Jakarta Military Police
headquarters about his relationship with several people,
including with former legislator Ibrahim Saleh and a number of
activists from the banned People's Democratic Party (PRD)
organization.

Ibrahim, who was arrested on March 6 for using an improper
visitors card during the MPR general session, told military
investigators that he did not know Suharta.

Presiding judge Rusdi As'ad adjourned the trial until Monday
to hear the defendant's lawyers' statement. The defendant remains
in detention at Salemba Penitentiary. (jun)