Regent fails to return to prison on time

Yuli Tri Suwarni and Puji Santoso, Bandung/Pekanbaru

Huzrin Hood, who was suspended as the Riau Islands regent after being convicted of corruption, has not returned to prison after being granted two days' leave of absence on Wednesday, officials confirmed on Friday.

He was granted permission to leave his Bandung prison cell to return to his hometown Tanjung Pinang for two days to attend a hearing on the review of his graft conviction.

"After attending the hearing, he should have returned to Sukamiskin Penitentiary by 7 p.m. on Thursday at the latest, but by Friday evening he hadn't returned," West Java justice and human rights office head Haryo Sasongko said.

He said permission to leave the prison had been granted by the director general of correctional institutions at the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights in Jakarta.

To prevent Huzrin from evading his two-year prison term, he was escorted by two prison guards and two police officers, Sukamiskin Penitentiary warden Mashudi said. "I don't know his current whereabouts. We have lost contact with his escorts," he explained.

Riau justice and human rights head Syaiful Rahman claimed he had not been notified that Huzrin had been permitted to leave the prison, according to Rahman's spokesman Rodian Silitonga.

"All I know is that Huzrin is being detained at Sukamiskin prison in Bandung," Rodian quoted Rahman as saying.

Rodian said that no hearing was being held in Tanjung Pinang and it would therefore be strange if Huzrin had been permitted to go there.

Kompas daily reported on Friday that Huzrin had attended a two-day working meeting of a committee tasked with preparing the establishment of Riau Island province on Thursday in Tanjung Pinang.

The meeting, held at Royal Palace Hotel, was also to celebrate the enactment of Law No. 25/2002 on the creation of Riau Islands province. The event was scheduled to end on Friday.

"Pak Huzrin attended the meeting while waiting for his hearing in the afternoon (Thursday)," his lawyer, Hendie Devitra, was quoted as saying.

Sasongko said that Huzrin could be punished if found to have abused the permission granted to him by attending the meeting in Tanjung Pinang.

Mashudi said the four guards would be questioned concerning Huzrin's activities after leaving the prison and in regards his late return to the prison.

"There could be a technical problem, such as difficulty getting a flight to Bandung. But if it (the delayed return) is due to ignorance, all will be punished," Mashudi said without elaborating.

It is the second time Huzrin has been allowed to leave Sukamiskin prison. On Sept. 15, he returned to Riau to attend a similar court hearing.

Huzrin was sentenced to two years in prison and fined Rp 200 million by the Tanjung Pinang District Court for corruption involving Rp 3.4 billion (US$377,777). He was also ordered to repay the embezzled money.

The verdict was upheld by the Supreme Court on Oct. 2, 2003. The convict was transferred to Sukamiskin Penitentiary on July 2.