Sjahril's detention period extended

JAKARTA (JP): Suspended Bank Indonesia governor Sjahril Sabirin must stay in detention at the Attorney General's Office for another 30 days, pending the completion of corruption investigations into him, an official said on Monday.

Spokesman to the Attorney General's Office Yushar Yahya said the Central Jakarta District Court issued an extension for Sjahril's arrest on Friday as requested by prosecutors. The last 30-day detention period, which started on Aug. 20, was due to end on Monday.

"This is the third extension since Sjahril was arrested on June 21.

"The period will be effective from Sept. 19, 2000, until Oct. 18," he told journalists at his office.

He said the investigation into Sjahril's corruption case would soon be completed.

The extension was signed by deputy chief of the Central Jakarta District Court Manis Soejono.

Sjahril arrived in Jakarta on Monday. He had been granted five-day's leave to visit his father, who was being treated at the Islamic Yarsi hospital in Bukittinggi, West Sumatra, accompanied by a prosecutor and an Attorney General's Office security officer.

His father, 91-year-old Ahmad Sabirin, died on Saturday. The Attorney General's Office consequently extended his leave for another day.

Yushar said the leave had been guaranteed by Bank Indonesia deputy governor Achjar Ilyas and the leader of Sjahril's team of lawyers, Sulistyo.

Sjahril is alleged to have violated the central bank's prudential principal following his policy to reimburse Rp 904 billion in interbank loans guaranteed by the government in connection with the Bank Bali scandal.

Some Rp 546 billion of the money was then reportedly paid to Golkar-linked factoring firm PT Era Giat Prima for helping Bank Bali recoup the loans from several defaulted banks. There are suspicions that a large portion of the money went to help bankroll the then president Habibie's reelection campaign.

Earlier last month, a panel of judges at the South Jakarta District Court cleared the main defendant in the case, EGP director Djoko S. Tjandra, from all corruption charges. They said the case was not a criminal one and there was no proof of state losses. (bby)