Police cross-check Puteh's testimony

Police cross-check Puteh's testimony

P.C. Naommy, Jakarta

Police began questioning two more top officials from Nanggroe
Aceh Darussalam province on Friday as witnesses in a Rp 30
billion (US$3.52 million) corruption case.

The secretary of the provincial administration, Thantawi
Ishak, and the head of the provincial treasury, T. Lizam,
appeared at the National Police Headquarters in Jakarta on Friday
for questioning.

According to the director of the police's White-Collar Crime
Division, Brig. Gen. Sugiri, the questioning revolved around the
procedures used in the purchase of a power generator.

"We want to know who authorized the purchase of the
generator," said Sugiri.

He said police had also arranged to question Aceh Deputy
Governor Azwar Abu Bakar over the same matter.

The questioning of Lizam and Thantawi over the purchase of the
generator is part of the investigation into corruption
allegations that have implicated a number of top officials in
Aceh, including Governor Abdullah Puteh.

Police questioned Puteh at the Jakarta Police Headquarters on
Wednesday last week. Puteh denied any involvement in corruption,
saying he had obtained approval from Aceh councillors for the
purchase of the generator.

During more than eight hours of questioning, Puteh was
required to provide detailed answers to 21 questions concerning
the purchase of the generator and who was involved in the
transaction.

Sugiri said whether or not the governor would be resummoned
depended on the answers given by other officials scheduled for
questioning in the case.

"We have already questioned Puteh and managed to get a lot of
information from him, which will need to be cross-checked," said
National Police chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar on Friday.

Asked if the police would name Puteh a suspect in the
corruption case, Da'i said it was too early to answer that and
the investigation first needed to be completed.

The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) also questioned
Puteh on Thursday over his alleged role in a markup in the
purchase of a Russian-made helicopter in 2002.

According to the commission, the questioning revealed that the
governor bypassed the bidding process in the purchase of the
helicopter for Rp 12.5 billion.

However, the KPK refused to say whether Puteh had violated
Government Regulation No. 29/1999, which requires a transparent
bid for any government projects or the procurement of goods
valued at more than Rp 5 billion.

The Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights Association (PBHI)
said on Friday the KPK already had sufficient evidence to file a
complaint against Puteh for a $725,000 markup in the price of the
helicopter.

The PBHI urged the KPK not to use Puteh's position as the
governor of Aceh as an excuse for delaying the investigation, or
to try and shift the blame to lower level officials.

Puteh took over as the civil emergency administrator in Aceh
on May 19, after the government revoked martial law in the
province.