North Sumatra cooperatives head detained for graft

North Sumatra cooperatives head detained for graft

The head of the North Sumatra Cooperatives and Small and Medium
Enterprises Office, Syarifuddin Sidabutar, has been detained by
the Bengkulu authorities for alleged graft.

The Bengkulu Prosecutor's Office said that Syarifuddin was
involved in the fictitious auctioning of at least 29 cars and
motorcycles when he served as the Bengkulu cooperatives head in
1999. The amount involved in the alleged corruption remains
unknown.

The office also detained auctioneer Doni Indarto in connection
with the case.

Both Syarifuddin and Doni were arrested on May 3 and will be
held for 20 days for investigation.

Under a warrant signed by deputy head of the Bengkulu
Prosecutor's Office, Adrean Effendy, the two suspects have been
detained to prevent them from fleeing, destroying evidence or
repeating a similar crime.

North Sumatra Governor T. Rizal Nurdin confirmed on Tuesday
the detention of Syarifuddin and assigned the latter's deputy to
temporarily take over his job.

"We are following the principle of innocence. If based on the
investigation, he (Syarifuddin) is found not guilty, he will not
be replaced. If the opposite is the case, we will consider taking
action against him," Rizal told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

He said the Bengkulu authorities had not notified the North
Sumatra administration about Syarifuddin's detention, but learned
of Syarifuddin's detention from newspapers on May 9, six days
after his arrest.

Rizal then ordered his spokesman Eddy Sofyan to clarify the
report by contacting the Bengkulu Prosecutor's Office on Monday.

Syarifuddin was arrested when he responded to his third
summons for questioning by the Bengkulu Prosecutor's Office,
after failing to comply to two previous summonses.

Apart from Syarifuddin, another high-ranking official in North
Sumatra, Ridwan Batubara, who heads the province's fisheries
office, had also been named a suspect in a separate corruption
case worth Rp 400 million.