Sapuan acted 'beyond authority'

JAKARTA (JP): Former Bulog deputy chief Sapuan acted beyond his authority when he ordered the State Logistics Agency's employee foundation to release Rp 35 billion to a close confidante of President Abdurrahman Wahid, an investigator said on Tuesday.

Djamalsyah Effendi Wahab, a former comptroller with Bulog, told the South Jakarta District Court that according to the foundation's statutes, Sapuan should have consulted the supervisory body before giving such an order in January.

Sapuan should also have called for a meeting to discuss the disbursement of such a huge sum of money, Djamalsyah said.

Sapuan, 57, who has since lost his job at Bulog, has been charged with embezzling the foundation's money.

Insisting he is innocent, he has said that he ordered the money to be released to Suwondo, Abdurrahman's masseur, in the belief that the President had personally asked for the money to be used for a government humanitarian program in Aceh.

Suwondo, who is wanted by the police in connection with the scam, has been at large since the scandal became public in April.

Acknowledging that Sapuan was managing Bulog's day-to-day operation on behalf of the agency's chief Jusuf Kalla, who was then also the minister of industry and trade, Djamalsyah said the authority did not extend to principled matters, like the disbursement of huge sums of money.

Three other foundation executives presented to the court by the prosecutors, however, testified on Tuesday that Sapuan had full authority from Jusuf Kalla to manage Bulog.

Muhamad Yacob Ishak (treasurer), Istiah (administration staff) and Jaborotan Nasution (secretary) all recalled Jusuf Kalla's statement on Dec. 22 before Bulog executives that he was entrusting the day-to-day running of the agency to Sapuan.

Both Yacob and Jaborotan retracted written statements they gave to the police earlier in which they said the disbursement violated procedures.

Yacob said the police had managed to recover Rp 16.5 billion of the money, including Rp 10 billion returned by Suwondo's wife.

Government prosecutors have also confiscated assets belonging to Suwondo, including the title to 200 hectares of land in Cianjur, West Java, and three luxury cars.

Two of the cars were on display in the court's parking lot.

The panel of judges ordered the prosecutors on Tuesday to transfer the Rp 16.5 billion money to the court's bank account.

Presiding judge Lalu Mariyun, who last week dismissed the corruption trial of former president Soeharto on grounds of ill health, adjourned the trial until next Tuesday. (01)