Senior official tried for aiding in Tansil's escape

Senior official tried for aiding in Tansil's escape

JAKARTA (JP): A senior official at the Cipinang penitentiary
went on trial yesterday in the East Jakarta District Court for
helping in the escape of businessman Eddy Tansil last May.

Dul, alias Dudung, commandant of the jail's third platoon of
guards, was accused of taking a Rp 2 million ($870) bribe.

Government prosecutor Muchtar Kunda said Dudung, 44, and four
members of his platoon, facilitated Tansil's escape on May 4.

Tansil, owner of the Golden Key Group of businesses, was
serving a 20-year prison sentence for defrauding Bank Pembangunan
Indonesia (Bapindo) of $620 million. It was the biggest fraud
ever recorded in Indonesian banking history.

He is still at large with many people believing that he has
fled the country, possibly to China.

Dudung is the fifth prison employees to stand trial in
connection with the escape. The other four suspects -- MH, Mar,
Soep, and SM -- are being tried separately in the same court.

MH, Mar, and Soep took Rp 100,000 (US$45) in bribes while SM
accepted Rp 1.1 million from Tansil, according to the
prosecution.

All five defendants, who are represented by lawyers from the
Jakarta Legal Aid Institute, are charged under Article 419 of the
Criminal Code which states that any government employee who
accepts a gift in the knowledge that it is intended to influence
his or her work, is liable to face five years imprisonment. They
are also being charged under the 1971 Anti-Corruption Law where
the maximum penalty is life imprisonment.

According to the indictment, on the night of May 4. Dudung
asked his subordinates to allow Tansil to go for a medical check-
up. The defendant also took Tansil to Dudung's house, and that
was the last time the fugitive was seen.

Presiding judge Soenarto adjourned the hearing until next
week.

Earlier, in a separate hearing, lawyers representing MH urged
the court to drop the charges against their client, citing
violations in the interrogation procedures.

The lawyers said their clients were interrogated by police in
the absence of a lawyer.

"According to the Criminal Code Procedures, the dossier from
such interrogations should be dropped in the interests of the
law," the defense's response to the charges read in court last
week said.

The lawyers questioned the use of the anti-corruption law,
which prescribes a minimum sentence of five years imprisonment,
for their client who is accused of taking Rp 100,000 in bribes.
"The use of the law is unfair on the defendant," they said.

They also urged the court to release the defendant.

The hearing was also adjourned to next Wednesday. (26)