Regent Hubi detained for graft

JAYAPURA, Papua: Jayawijaya Regent David Agustin Hubi was put in police detention on Wednesday as a result of his alleged role in an ongoing corruption case.

The graft case centers on four large expenditures valued at more than Rp 15 billion ($1.5 million), which were funded by the Jayawijaya budget between 2002 and 2004. One of the expenditures was said to be for two Fokker-27 airplanes. Hubi was declared a suspect after the aircraft purchase turned out to be entirely fictitious.

The investigation into Hubi has been going on for a month since President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono approved it, said spokesman of Papua provincial police Adj. Sr. Comr. Kartono.

Hubi is the first regent in over a decade to be put in jail while being investigated over a corruption case. Another regent, AP Youw, Nabire Regent, is under investigation for alleged involvement in a corruption case that centers on the construction of the Merah Putih Building, but he has not been detained.

Separately, Hubi's lawyer Bernard Akasian claimed that political forces were behind the investigation. -- JP