Sjamsul escape rumor denied

JAKARTA (JP): Attorney general's spokesperson Moeljohardjo denied on Friday rumors that business mogul Sjamsul Nursalim, a suspect in a corruption case, had fled the country saying he was being treated at a hospital here.

"It's absolutely untrue," he said, as quoted by Antara.

Moeljohardjo said Sjamsul was undergoing treatment at Room 427 of Medistra Hospital, South Jakarta due to a heart problem and chest pains.

Sjamsul, owner of Gadjah Tunggal Group, was arrested by the Attorney General's Office on Tuesday but was allowed to leave the detention house that night due to illness.

A former director of the now defunct Bank Dagang Negara Indonesia, Sjamsul is alleged to have misused Rp 10.9 trillion (US$990.9 million) of state emergency loans extended to the bank between 1997 and 1999.

Sjamsul is one of three tycoons whose legal proceedings were initially delayed upon President Abdurrahman Wahid's request as they were considered the largest contributors to the country's economy.

The other two were Marimutu Sinivasan, owner of textile company Texmaco and timber tycoon Prajogo Pangestu.

The Attorney General's Office has stressed that Sjamsul's time in hospital would not be deducted from his 20-day detention warrant.

The Attorney General's Office has also forbidden him from travelling abroad for a year, starting Dec. 22.

Separately on Friday, another detainee, former minister of mines and energy Ginandjar Kartasasmita, received a visit from the head of the Muslim Brotherhood, cleric Hussein Al Habsyi.

Habsyi said his visit was a show of support for Ginandjar.

"I have come to see my people who are being cruelly treated by Mr. Dur," he said referring to the President.

"I told him (Ginandjar) to pray and be patient in facing this and not to worry because I am here for him," he told journalists.

Habsyi is known as a political opponent of Nahdlatul Ulama.

Despite not obtaining a visiting permit from prosecutors, Habsyi accompanied Ginandjar for Friday prayers at the office's Baitul Adli mosque and talked with him for ten minutes inside his cell.

Ginandjar refused to talk to reporters.

Ginandjar is accused of abusing power in his former capacity as minister of mines and energy, in several government contracts which allegedly caused some $24.8 million in losses to the state.

He has been in detention since April 6 after receiving medical treatment at state-run Pertamina Hospital for a week.(bby/hdn)