Replacement of judges in BUN case trial sought

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The prosecutors handling a graft trial involving officials of the now-defunct Bank Umum Nasional (BUN) have demanded the replacement of the panel of judges under suspicion of a conflict of interest following the court's decision not to hear the testimony of a witness.

The Attorney General's Office wrote to the head of the Central Jakarta District Court and also to the Jakarta High Court and the Supreme Court on Wednesday, to protest the district court's decision during Tuesday's hearing.

Office spokesman Barman Zahir told reporters on Wednesday that presiding judge Amiruddin Zakaria had used a weak argument in refusing to hear the testimony of the prosecutors' expert witness Oei Hoei Tiong, an executive from the central bank, Bank Indonesia.

"The prosecutors concluded that the presiding judge has an interest in the ongoing prosecution because his decision was based on the request of the lawyers of the defendants. We demand the replacement of the presiding judge or the whole panel of judges, trying the case," Barman said.

In Tuesday's hearing, the lawyers of the defendants -- BUN director Leonard Tanubrata and vice commissioner Kaharudin Ongko -- filed an objection against the expert witness provided by the prosecutors, saying that the central bank was also implicated in the case.

The judges -- Amiruddin, Andi Samsan Nganro and I Ketut Gede -- accepted the objection although the prosecutors, led by Arnold Angkow, had protested the judges' decision on the grounds that the Criminal Code Procedures (KUHAP) had regulated that the court must hear all testimonies which had been recorded in the dossiers.

The judges based their argument merely on a Supreme Court circular which stated that it was the panel of judges who had the authority to decide which witnesses could be produced in the courtroom, Barman said.

The case, which also involves BUN commissioner, tycoon Mohamad "Bob" Hasan, centers around the alleged misuse of Rp 6.7 trillion (US$670 million) of Bank Indonesia's emergency loans disbursed between November 1997 and April 1998.