Repealed law can be used to charge Bob: Prosecutor

Repealed law can be used to charge Bob: Prosecutor

JAKARTA (JP): Prosecutors in a multimillion-dollar graft case
insisted on Wednesday that charging timber baron Muhamad "Bob"
Hasan under an old anticorruption law that had been repealed was
lawful despite the existence of a new Anticorruption Law.

Chief prosecutor Arnold Angkouw told the Central Jakarta
District Court hearing that since the defendant allegedly
committed corruption before the enactment of the 1999
Anticorruption Law, he had used the old 1971 anticorruption law
to charge Hasan.

"A crime committed can only be brought to court in accordance
with a law enacted before the crime was committed.

If there are revisions to a certain law, (which leads to the
enactment of a revised law), the defendant should be tried
according to the law that is most beneficial to him," Arnold told
the hearing, quoting Paragraphs 1 and 2 of Article 1 of the
Indonesian Criminal Code.

"If neither of the two laws are beneficial, the defendant
should be tried according to the law enacted before the crime was
committed... in this case, the 1971 anticorruption law."

The hearing was presided over by judge Subardi.

As reported earlier, prosecutors accused the defendant of
defrauding the state of US$75.62 million and the Association of
Indonesian Forest Concessionaires (APHI) of another $168 million
through an allegedly fraudulent aerial mapping project, on the
basis of an old law that had been repealed.

Judge Subardi adjourned the hearing until Thursday next week,
when the panel of judges will decide to whether accept or reject
the demand made by Hasan's team of defense lawyers to dismiss the
case which they say is based on a repealed law.

Separately, defense lawyer Intihani said on Wednesday that
arguments made by prosecutors were baseless since the 1999
Anticorruption Law clearly cancels out the old law, as stated in
Article 44 of the new law.

"Arnold spoke of revision ... a revised law. The 1999 law is
not a revised law but a totally new law which cancels the old
law," Intihani told The Jakarta Post.

"The new law was enacted after the alleged corruption acts
were committed so it cannot be used in court legally, whereas the
old law has been repealed."

In Article 36 of the 1971 anticorruption law, it is clearly
stated that corruption acts occurring before the enactment of the
law could be investigated and tried in court using this law.

However, nothing as such is stated in the new Anticorruption
Law.

As reported earlier, Hasan's lawyers accused state prosecutors
of coming up with an incomplete dossier on the defendant.

"The prosecutors are charging my client under the 1971
anticorruption law for enriching himself at the state's expense.
The law is no longer in effect, as the 1999 Anticorruption Law
was enacted on Aug. 16 last year," Augustinus Hutajulu, lead
defense lawyer of Bob Hasan, told the hearing. (ylt)