Police question Syahril for nine hours

JAKARTA: Police investigators fired 29 questions at former Bank Indonesia (BI) governor Syahril Sabirin on Tuesday over his alleged role in the misuse of Rp 20.9 trillion (US$2.45 billion) in funds from Account No. 502.

"The police have asked questions related to the use of funds by BI from the account. I have answered a series of questions, including those asked last Friday. BI will hand in further supporting documents if they are deemed necessary," said Syahril after being questioned for more than nine hours.

Syahril did not want to answer specific questions related to the investigation, nor comment on accusations that he was trying to divert public attention from the real case by making it a query into policy.

He did not answer questions about the alleged distribution of funds to a number of people nor about the final balance of the account when he was still in office.

"You can check the exact balance later. I cannot answer questions that bear substantial weight. As a witness, I am not allowed to reveal the questions posed by investigators," he said.

"At present, I think it is not yet appropriate for me to explain the overall issue to the public," he commented. -- JP