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)