Rudi sick, Bank Bali trial delayed

Rudi sick, Bank Bali trial delayed

JAKARTA (JP): A judge at the South Jakarta district court
adjourned on Wednesday the initial hearing of the high profile
Bank Bali scandal until Nov. 17 after the bank's former president
Rudy Ramli, the man at the center of the Rp 546 billion (US$78
million) scandal, failed to turn up in the court room.

L.L.M. Samosir, one of Rudy's lawyers, told presiding judge
Soedarto that Rudy was being treated at Graha Medika Hospital in
South Jakarta for mental depression and liver failure.

"Doctor Gan Hok Hion issued the letter on Nov. 9, stating that
Rudy had since then been given a three-day rest and was unable to
attend today's hearing," he said.

Quoting article 154 of the Criminal Code Procedure, Judge
Soedarto told the hearing that judges were allowed to either
adjourn or continue a hearing if one of several defendants were
absent from the session.

"We decided to adjourn the hearing until Nov. 17 for the sake
of efficiency," said Soedarto.

"It is not efficient if the prosecutors repeat reading the
indictment on Rudy Ramli in the next hearing, while its content
is the same as others'," said Soedarto.

The judge's decision was in compliance with Attorney General
Marzuki Darusman's request, quoted in Kompas daily's Tuesday
edition, that he had ordered the team of prosecutors to adjourn
the hearing on "human rights considerations."

Y.W. Mere, one of the prosecutors, denied that Marzuki's
instruction should be considered as an intervention.

"I just knew that Rudy was sick this morning," he said.

Hendardi, chairman of Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights
Association (PBHI) doubted that Marzuki would be able to free
himself from having a personal interest in the Bank Bali scandal.

"The PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) audit has indicated that
many Golkar executives were implicated in the scandal.

"In a bid to avoid the people's doubt of the goodwill of
Marzuki in handling the scandal, the government, with the
approval of the House of Representatives must establish an
independent prosecutor for the case," he said.

Marzuki is deputy chairman of the Golkar Party.

Unlike Rudy, three other defendants were present at
Wednesday's hearing. They were Firman Soetjadja and Henri
Kurniawan, both former Bank Bali deputies to the president
director, and Rusli Suryadi, the bank's director. Rudy was the
president director of the bank.

Minutes after the hearing, scores of protesters grouped under
the Society for Law Supervision and Enforcement (MPPH) staged a
protest in front of the court building.

They demanded the court prosecute the alleged masterminds
behind the scandal, such as former Supreme Advisory Council
chairman A.A. Baramuli and businessman Marimutu Manimaren.

Judge Soedarto met the protesters and suggested that it was
the authority of the Attorney General's Office to probe the
scandal. "The court will only try the case."

In a separate development, Bank Indonesia disclosed on
Wednesday a relative of the Central Bank executive, Ermawaty
Agustina, had received funds from the multibillion transfer, as
revealed in the PwC report.

"We have suspended the executive, to pave the way for the
Central Bank to conduct an investigation into the matter," said a
statement made available to the media and signed by Bank
Indonesia's deputy governor Aulia Pohan.

The statement did not mention the name of the executive.

Meanwhile, the Attorney General's Office declared on Wednesday
that it had placed Djoko S. Chandra, one of the suspects in the
scandal, under house arrest.

"The query has been completed. And we believe that he will not
run away and tamper with evidence," Soehandoyo said as quoted by
Antara.

Djoko, former director of PT Era Giat Prima, had been detained
at the office since Oct. 26. (asa/02)