Regent quizzed for 10 hours over graft
Regent quizzed for 10 hours over graft
The Jakarta Post, Kendari, Cirebon/Pekanbaru
Corruption suspect Konawe Regent Lukman Abunawas was questioned
for 10 hours on Tuesday by Southeast Sulawesi prosecutors over
his connection with two cases of fraud worth Rp 2 billion
(US$222,000).
Lukman arrived at the prosecutor's office at about 8:30 a.m.
in his official car. The closed-door session ended at 6:30 p.m.
The regent was accompanied by lawyers Abu Hanifa Pahege and
Abidin Ramli and at least 11 bodyguards.
As Lukman was taken into an interrogation room, several
district chiefs and 150 village heads in Konawe arrived at the
prosecutor's office to lend him "moral support".
"Whatever happens to Pak Lukman, he is my superior," Sampara
district head Nurlan told The Jakarta Post.
The presence of the district and village chiefs followed
rumors that the regent would be detained directly after Tuesday's
questioning.
No move was made to detain him and Lukman remains free.
Dozens of police officers provided a guard inside the office
to prevent a possible disturbance during the questioning.
Local chief prosecutor I Wayan Suarta declined to comment on
the probe. "Give us time to question him (Lukman). We cannot give
you any statement," he said.
The prosecutors summoned the regent after obtaining two
permission letters from President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in
November and December respectively.
Lukman is accused of illegally approving the disbursement of
Rp 2 billion in severance payouts to 25 members of the regional
legislative council.
The former councillors allegedly received payments of at least
Rp 50 million each, with senior officials pocketing much more. At
least three of the councillors have returned the money.
Lukman also faces another corruption charge of misusing more
than Rp 200 million from an education aid fund.
Separately, all 45 former members of West Java's Indramayu
legislative council would soon be questioned about systematic
stealing that had cost the local government Rp 5.3 billion, local
prosecutors said.
Indramayu Prosecutor's Office head Pardan Rachim said he would
soon summon all 45 former councillors in the regency and question
them about money misappropriated from Indramayu's budgets from
2001 to 2003.
Prosecutors would continue to collect evidence from inside the
local administration before questioning the councillors, Pardan
said. He could not say when the questioning would start.
They had earlier spoken to regency finance head Sri
Wulaningsih and council secretary Srie Indrawati as witnesses in
the case.
The plan to summon the councillors followed recent
demonstrations by students and activists who demanded a thorough
investigation into corruption in the council.
In Pekanbaru on Tuesday, prosecutors spoke to nine farmers
from Kampar as witnesses about the misuse of up to 70 percent of
Rp 5.4 billion in funds allocated to an agribusiness project.
Earlier, the prosecutors officially named a project
coordinator and another senior official of the Kampar forestry
office as suspects in the case.
The questioning of the nine farmers was aimed at finding more
evidence, prosecutors' spokesman Enita Menhar said.