Soeharto still unfit to stand trial

JAKARTA: Former president Soeharto had yet to recover from his illness and remained unfit to stand trial for alleged corruption, a prosecutor said on Wednesday.

"We have no choice because if we push for his trial, the court will not approve it. We don't want the case to move backwards," the chief prosecutor in Soeharto's case, Y.W. Mere, said.

He said state prosecutors were complying with the Supreme Court verdict requiring them to pay for the former dictator's check ups until he was considered fit to stand trial.

Withdrawing the charges was also impossible as any move to do so had to meet certain conditions, such as a lack of evidence or the suspect's death, he said.

A medical examination in mid-June showed a general improvement in the 81-year-old's health but no improvement to nerve damage that is impeding his ability to communicate. -- Antara