Probo's case highlights corrupt system: Experts

Probo's case highlights corrupt system: Experts

Eva C. Komandjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Businessman Probosutedjo's admission that he gave money to his
lawyer to bribe judges handling his graft case, and a similar
move by a lawyer of suspended Aceh governor Abdullah Puteh a few
months ago, highlight the country's corrupt and weak judicial
system, experts say.

Chairman of the Indonesian Judicial Watch Society (MAPPI) Asep
Rahmat Fajar said that bribery within the judicial system was not
a new thing since it had been a common practice of lawyers,
prosecutors and judges.

"All are playing this game and there are many ways of doing
that," he told The Jakarta Post over the weekend.

Probosutedjo admitted last week to having given his lawyer Rp
6 billion (US$600,000) to bribe Supreme Court judges and other
court officials dealing with his appeal against his graft
conviction. Supreme Court Chief Justice Bagir Manan, who was one
of the judges, has denied accepting the bribe.

Probosutedjo -- who is the half-brother of Soeharto -- was
given a four-year jail term by the Central Jakarta District Court
for abusing reforestation funds, which was later reduced to two
years by the Jakarta High Court.

He also said last week he had previously disbursed another Rp
10 billion for the judges and officials of the two courts.

In June, a lawyer of Puteh, who has been convicted on graft
charges, was caught red-handed by officials of the Corruption
Eradication Commission (KPK) bribing clerks of the Anticorruption
Court to influence the verdict.

Asep said bribery would start as early in a case as the
selection of judges.

Some lawyers, who had close "connections" with certain judges
would pick judges who were certain to hand down a favorable
verdict.

"You can even negotiate as to when the trial will start and
when the verdict will be delivered. If you have a lot of money,
everything will go at full speed, otherwise they will postpone
your case," Asep said.

An experienced criminal lawyer, who requested anonymity, spoke
to the Post, painting a grim picture of corruption in the
country's judicial system, which has long been seen as one of the
factors deterring foreign investment.

He said that even top-notch lawyers were involved in the
practice of bribing judges.

"It's just that they're playing it very discreetly so they
look clean in public but they're actually worse," he said.

He explained that most cases of bribery began with a request
from the client for a speedy trial culminating in a favorable
verdict.

But in some cases, he added, it was the judges, clerks or even
prosecutors who first requested the bribe money.

"The suspects do it because they have lost their trust in the
country's judicial system, aware that they won't get a fair trial
without the involvement of money," he added.

He said that sometimes his clients had to pay tens of millions
of rupiah just to set up the trial schedule, let alone "buying"
the verdict.

"You can even pay them if you -- as a suspect -- want to
arrive in court not in a prison van but in your own car, or don't
want your hands to be handcuffed," he said.

Some judges, he said, who could be bought easily would not set
a price that was too high. He would just ask for a sum of money
called "college money" for his children.

"Buying the verdict can cost you hundreds of millions of
rupiah -- and it can be more expensive if your case is an
important one and you are a high-profile figure," he said.

According to him, a lawyer can even approach the parking
attendant asking him to deliver the money to the clerk or judge
if he is too afraid to deliver it himself.

"Most parking attendants at courts are well acquainted with
the practice, so it's not at all difficult," he said.

He said that most of the lawyers, including himself and his
team, provided a regular allowance for certain judges in the form
of "entertainment money" to maintain a close relationship as that
would lead to favorable verdicts for their clients.

"These things happen because there are flaws in the long and
complicated bureaucracy. Holes in the system and public distrust
can make anything possible in court," he said.