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.