Police fail to grill Beddu as his whereabouts unknown
Police fail to grill Beddu as his whereabouts unknown
Sandy Darmosumarto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Police were unable to present former chief of the State Logistics
Agency (Bulog) Beddu Amang for questioning on Friday, despite the
fact that they had a warrant to pick him up from his house.
Hadidjaja, one of the medical doctors who was waiting for
permission to enter of Beddu's residence in Kemang, South
Jakarta, said that "we possess a warrant to conduct a search of
Beddu's residence".
"Our job is to conduct a medical checkup to confirm the
validity of his claim. If he is found to be medically unfit, we
will immediately move him to Sukanto Police Hospital in East
Jakarta for treatment. Otherwise we will escort him directly to
the National Police Headquarters," said Hadidjaja.
A police officer said Beddu's family members prevented the
police from conducting the search.
Police moved Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir by force from a
hospital in the Central Java city of Surakarta in 2002 to the
Sukanto Police Hospital after he was named a suspect in a treason
case.
The police had arranged for Beddu to be questioned on Friday
as a suspect in the alleged misuse of Rp 841 billion (US$99
million) in an animal feed subsidy fund. Another former Bulog
official M. Ismet has also been named a suspect.
The questioning came two days after the Supreme Court upheld a
two-year prison sentence for Beddu for his role in a land swap
deal in 2000 which caused Rp 20 billion in state losses. The law
says Beddu has to serve his sentence.
Beddu's lawyer Djoko Prabowo Saebani said his client had left
him a letter from a doctor indicating he needed to take a two-
week rest. Djoko did not specify the reason for Beddu's ill
health. He, however, said that Beddu was still in Jakarta.
A member of the police investigating team, Adj. Sr. Comr. Dwi
Riyanto, said he had been informed that Beddu had left his house
at 7 a.m. on Friday.
National Police deputy spokesman Brig. Gen. Soenarko Ardan
said that procedures required that the police send an
investigating officer and a doctor to confirm the validity of
Beddu's claim and that he was at home as stated by his lawyer.
The police deployed three police officers and two doctors.
Director of the National Police graft unit, Brig. Gen. Sugiri,
said the search warrant was issued as Beddu had already ignored
the police summons three times.
Police have detained one of the suspects, Muhammad Amien, a
former Bulog deputy chief for procurement and plan to question
Hadi Gunawan of PT Charoen Phokphand, Ahmad Syaifudin Haq of PT
Java Comfeed, Hadi Susanto of CV Cibadak, and Surphius Indrawan
of PT Teluk Intan as suspects in the graft case.