Suspect's role in bogus money case

SURABAYA (JP): A chauffeur of Slamet Hardjo, a suspect in a counterfeit money case, told interrogators on Thursday that he saw Soemarjono, the main suspect, hand over a box believed to contain bogus money to his employer.

Surabaya Police chief of detectives Maj. Edwin BM briefed reporters about the questioning, saying that Herna, the 25-year- old chauffeur, admitted to driving his employer Slamet Hardjo to a cafe located close to Soemarjono's house in Bintaro, South Jakarta, in a Kijang van with license plate number B 1307 ZZ in March this year.

Herna said he saw his employer deep in conversation with Soemarjono, but he could not hear what they were talking about, Edwin said. "Herna was then asked by his employer to take a carton box from Soemarjono's house. He said he did not know what was in the box.

"When we showed Herna a box containing counterfeit banknotes, he said it was the box he took from Soemarjono's home. We then confronted Soemarjono with Herna, and again Soemarjono said he knew nothing about the box or its contents," Edwin said.

He said the Surabaya Police would soon question Lista, a woman currently detained at Jakarta Police Headquarters for alleged involvement in producing bogus money with Soemarjono.

Lista earlier told the police she obtained the paper on which to print fake money from Soemarjono, former commander of internal affairs at the Army Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad).

According to Edwin, Lista's testimony is crucial to prove Soemarjono's role as the supplier of paper for fake money.

Besides Soemarjono, a retired Army colonel, two other retired Army officers, Col. (ret) Slamet Hardjo and First Corp. (ret) Shi'in, were also detained by Surabaya Police for alleged production and circulation of bogus money amounting to Rp 4.7 billion. Another 11 suspects detained in Surabaya are civilians.

Up until Thursday evening, Soemarjono, the manager of the Indonesian Thomas Cup badminton squad, was still being interrogated. He was again confronted with other suspects, including Slamet Hardjo, Hadi Waskito and Shi'in, who earlier acknowledged they knew him. Slamet Hardjo and Hadi Waskito told the police that Soemarjono had placed orders (for counterfeit money) and had become a supplier of the paper on which to print the fake money.

Soemarjono, known for his generosity among badminton players, has denied all charges against him and claims to have legitimate business with two of the suspects. He also said he did not know the other suspects and that the police had no evidence against him. (nur/sur)