Sidiq gets 3 months for extortion

Sidiq gets 3 months for extortion

JAKARTA: The head of the Al-Tauhid Islamic boarding school in
Kediri, East Java, Abdullah Sidiq Muin, was sentenced to three
months imprisonment by the Central Jakarta District Court on
Tuesday after he was found guilty of swindling former president
Soeharto's son Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra to the tune of Rp 2.9
billion (US$341,177).

Presiding judge Saparudin Hasibuan, who read out the court's
verdict, said that Sidiq was guilty of cheating Tommy by
promising him a presidential pardon from then president
Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid. Sidiq was helped by Raden Dodi
Sumadi, whose whereabouts are currently unknown.

Sidiq had been detained from Jan. 26 to March 5 and now only
needed to serve less than a month in prison. He was allowed out
of prison on March 5 due to ill health.

Lawyer Budi Santosa said that his client would likely appeal.
He said there were no conclusive evidence supporting the charge.

During the trial, prosecutors only showed a photocopy of an
agreement dated Oct. 19, 2000, to divide the Rp 15 billion paid
by Tommy into four equal parts. The prosecutors failed to show
the original agreement, which, Budi said, was against a legal
precedent from 1976 ruling that a photocopy could not be treated
as original evidence.

Budi also questioned the fact that only four witnesses
testified during the trial instead of the planned 16. -- JP