Puteh to sit in the dock soon
Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The anticorruption court has named a panel of five judges who will hear the corruption case involving Aceh governor Abdullah Puteh.
The court, however, has not set a date for Puteh's first hearing.
Judges at the Central Jakarta District Court, which oversees the anticorruption court, named on Friday judges Krishna Menon, Gusrizal, Dudu Duswara, Achmad Linoh and I Made Hendra Kusuma to hear Puteh's graft trial after they received the governor's case file and an indictment from the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) earlier in the day.
Puteh's trial will serve as a test case for the KPK, the anticorruption court and the antigraft drive launched by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
KPK prosecutors are charging Puteh with Law No. 31/1999 on corruption eradication for his role in the alleged mark up in the purchase price of a Russian-made helicopter by his administration in 2001. The offense carries a maximum penalty of 20 year's jail.
A KPK delegation led by deputy chairman Tumpak Hatorangan Panggabean handed over the case file and indictment to Made Karna, the head of the Central Jakarta District Court on Friday.
Tumpak said his office had also sent the copy of indictment to Puteh, who is currently being detained at the Salemba penitentiary in Central Jakarta.
Tumpak said the KPK had listed 39 witnesses who would testify against the governor during the trial.
As soon as the trial starts, the government will suspend Puteh temporarily as Aceh governor.
The KPK officials prosecuting the case are Chaidir Ramli, Wisnu Baroto and Yessy Esmeralda.
The commission has named Puteh a suspect in the alleged mark- up which cost the state about Rp 4 billion (US$440,000).
According to the indictment, Puteh ordered the purchase of the helicopter, which was not part of spending in the Aceh provincial budget and without the consent of Aceh legislative council.
The governor is also charged with illegally slashing Rp 700 million off the state budget allocated to each of 13 regental and municipal administrations in the province to pay for the aircraft.
Puteh diverted Rp 35 billion from the routine spending and Rp 9.1 billion illegally from the special funds allocated by the central government for the regional administrations in Aceh.
The KPK also accused Puteh of failing to mention the helicopter purchase in the revision of the provincial budget.
Critics say rampant corruption in the natural resource-rich province has only furthered the cause of Free Aceh Movement (GAM) separatists, who have been agitating in the area since 1976.