Subiakto grilled for nine hours for Rp 10b graft
Rendi A. Witular, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Former State Minister of Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises Subiakto Tjakrawerdaya was questioned for more than nine hours on Tuesday during his first day in City Police custody.
The questioning of Subiakto, wearing detainee uniform number 033 with black trousers, began at 10:35 a.m., and finished at 7:50 p.m.
He was placed in cell number A11 -- used by people like former president Soeharto's son Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra, and grandson Ari Sigit, and the former minister of cooperatives and State Logistics Agency (Bulog) chief Bustanil Arifin -- late Monday at 10:30 p.m.
Subiakto was charged for his alleged role in a Rp 10 billion (US$1 million) scam at his office employees' cooperatives unit, and misuse of Rp 10 billion in funds from the cooperatives.
After the probe, Subiakto's lawyer, Juniver Girsang, revealed that the investigators, led by the chief of the Corruption Division, Comr. Anton Wahono, had delivered 21 questions over the land transaction between Subiakto's office employee's cooperatives unit, and Bambang Trihatmodjo, Soeharto's second son.
Juniver said that the investigation also probed the method by which Subiakto had implemented the decision letter issued by Bustanil, who is now under house arrest due to illness after being charged for corruption at the ministry.
Bustanil had ordered Subiakto to buy a 4,003-square-meter land tract on Jl. H.R. Rasuna Said, South Jakarta, from Bambang. The plot of land, with a market price of only Rp 1.8 billion in 1990, was purchased at Rp 10 billion.
Earlier on Tuesday, Juniver had officially submitted a letter to the police requesting that they suspend Subiakto from being detained. He also guaranteed that his client's suspect would not escape.
Juniver expressed hope that Subiakto would be put under city arrest, or house arrest. "My client will cooperate with the police in the investigation," he asserted.
However, city police spokesman Comr. Anton Bachrul Alam said that the police had no reason to suspend Subiakto's detention, as he was not ill, although the suspect did complain of feeling ill before the questioning.
"We have strong evidence with which to detain him, as he has been proven to be involved in the scam; Subiakto knows the flow of the money," said Anton.
Subiakto is the eleventh minister from the New Order Regime to have been publicly linked to corruption crimes.
Police officials said that Subiakto would be charged with Anticorruption Law No. 31/1999, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.