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.