Sapuan's hearing delayed by two weeks

Sapuan's hearing delayed by two weeks

JAKARTA (JP): Lawyers for former State Logistics Agency
(Bulog) deputy chief, Sapuan, requested a hearing of their
client's corruption case on Tuesday be adjourned due to the
absence of presiding judge Lalu Mariyun and asked the South
Jakarta District Court to postpone the hearing until Jan. 23.

The hearing was scheduled to begin at 10 a.m., but at 11:30
a.m., judge Lalu who is also chief of the district court, had yet
to arrive as he was attending a Halal bi Halal (post-Idul Fitri)
gathering at the Supreme Court in Central Jakarta.

Judge Rosmandani Achmad, a member of the panel of judges that
is trying the case, took the initiative to open the hearing at
11:30 a.m. and requested the prosecutors, the lawyers, the
defendant and reporters to wait patiently for Lalu Mariyun who
informed he would be present at the hearing at 1:30 p.m.

But, chief lawyer Muhammad Assegaf said it was too late to
begin.

"We want the questioning of the defendant to be completed in
one session," he told reporters at the courtroom.

Prosecutor Nulis Sembiring said he agreed with the two-week
delay.

"I can understand the delay because of the busy schedules of
the judges and the lawyers," he told The Jakarta Post while
leaving the courtroom.

Sapuan, the man at the center of the Rp 35 billion (US$3.6
million) Bulog scandal, is being charged under Article 374 of the
Criminal Code on embezzlement, which carries a maximum sentence
of five years in jail.

Sapuan has denied the charges, saying that he acted upon
President Abdurrahman Wahid's order to find funds for the
government's humanitarian program in Aceh. The money subsequently
went to Suwondo, Abdurrahman's masseur, who will be prosecuted in
a separate trial, and to a number of other people associated with
the President.

The scandal has prompted the House of Representatives to form
a special committee (Pansus) to investigate the possibility that
members of the President's inner circle were involved.

A member of the President's inner circle being heard at the
House on Tuesday was Semarang-based businesswoman Siti Farikha.

Forgiveness

A few minutes prior the opening of the hearing, Sapuan who has
always been reluctant to meet journalists, surprisingly, revealed
that he had forgiven President Abdurrahman for all his mistakes.

"To forgive is the most difficult thing for Indonesians to do,
but I forgive Gus Dur," he said, adding that forgiving others was
a lesson his late grandmother had taught him.

"Not only Gus Dur, but I also forgive all of you," he said to
the journalists surrounding him, but did not elaborate.

Sapuan said he expected his trial would be finished early this
year and explained that the scandal that has dragged him to court
was no problem.

"During the fasting month of Ramadhan, I prepared my personal
pleas, besides the lawyers' pleas, against the prosecutors'
charges," he said.

Sapuan said he would likely publish his personal pleas in a
book following a suggestion by a fellow prisoner.

Sapuan said if the South Jakarta District Court acquitted him
of all charges, he would teach economy at a Jakarta-based private
university.

"It will be impossible for me to return to Bulog because I'm
retired already," the 57-year-old Sapuan said.

"However, if the court punishes me with a jail sentence, I'll
fight through a higher court. (01)