Prosecutor files appeal against decision on Djoko

Prosecutor files appeal against decision on Djoko

JAKARTA (JP): The South Jakarta Prosecutor's Office filed an
appeal at the Jakarta High Court on Tuesday over the South
Jakarta District Court's decision to drop the indictment against
Djoko S. Tjandra, a defendant in the Rp 546 billion (US$73.7
million) Bank Bali scandal.

Documents of the appeal case, including the District Court's
verdict, the prosecutor's indictment and the appeal statement
were officially submitted by the South Jakarta District Court
officials in place of the prosecutor's office.

"We filed an appeal at the Jakarta High Court this morning,
after receiving all the documents from prosecutor Ridwan Moekiat
on Friday," a staffer at the appeals section of the South Jakarta
District Court, Dimyati, said.

"On the other hand, we have also informed the judges and the
defendant's lawyers about the appeal case," Dimyati told The
Jakarta Post.

In his six-page appeal statement, the prosecutor demanded the
High Court revoke the district court's decision.

"The charges center on the alleged corruption practices
carried out by the defendant, but not the cessie contract between
Bank Bali and PT Era Giat Prima, in which Djoko was an executive
of the company," said the statement.

Presiding judge R. Soenarto said, while reading the verdict in
a pretrial hearing on March 6, that the judges did not have the
authority to try the case since it was not a criminal one.

He said the authority to try the case rested with a team of
judges in a civil case, which would determine whether the cessie
contract was legal or not.

The Bank Bali scandal centers around a transfer of Rp 546
billion to PT Era Giat Prima as commission for services in
assisting the bank to recoup Rp 904 billion in interbank loans.

The case drew the pubic's attention as part of the money was
reportedly transferred to the Golkar Party to finance the
presidential campaign of then president B.J. Habibie.

In the indictment, the prosecutor accused Djoko of
"approaching" several top government figures to pave the way for
the disbursement of the funds from the Indonesian Bank
Restructuring Agency (IBRA).

The figures were, among others, Pande Lubis from IBRA, former
Supreme Advisory chairman A. A. Baramuli, former state minister
of state enterprises Tanri Abeng and Erman Munzir, an executive
of the central bank.

The prosecutor insisted that by dropping the indictment the
judges had acted beyond their responsibility.

"In the pretrial hearing, the judges were not supposed to
touch the substance of the case," he said.

He said that in a pretrial hearing, the judges usually rule
whether the court has the authority to try the case, or to rule
whether the indictment was complete and clear.

The prosecutor also demanded the high court order the district
court to continue the hearing of the case, and to rule the
indictment as complete and clear.

The prosecutor then insisted that the defendant must be
detained as the hearing started.

Dimyati said the high court would have 14 days to examine the
district court's verdict.

"The high court will decide within 14 days whether to uphold
or overrule the district court's ruling. If the ruling is
overruled, the district court will continue to hear the case," he
said. (asa)