Rahardi's sentence demands on Oct. 1

Rahardi's sentence demands on Oct. 1

JAKARTA: Prosecutors are expected to announce their sentence
demands on Oct. 1 for former chief of the State Logistics Agency
(Bulog) Rahardi Ramelan for his alleged role in the high-profile
Bulog scam involving Golkar Party Chairman Akbar Tandjung.

Rahardi is being tried in the South Jakarta District Court for
allegedly misappropriating Rp 62.9 billion in state funds between
1998 and 1999.

Rahardi gave Rp 40 billion of the funds to Akbar, Rp 10
billion to former Minister of Defense Gen. (ret) Wiranto and
distributed the rest to a variety of sources, including to the
Presidential Guards.

Many believe the Rp 40 billion was channeled to the Golkar
Party during the 1999 election.

Akbar, the speaker of the House of Representatives, was
sentenced to three-years jail by the Central Jakarta District
Court last week. Two other defendants, Dadang Sukandar and
Winfried Simatupang, received 18 months in jail sentences. --JP