Regent fails to return to prison on time

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.