Sutiyoso amazed at arrest of senior official

Sutiyoso amazed at arrest of senior official

JAKARTA (JP): Governor Sutiyoso said Friday's arrest of the
head of the city inspectorate office, Sutardjianto, for his
alleged role in a Rp 2.6 billion (US$317,000) corruption scam had
caught him by surprise.

According to the governor, he was unaware of an ongoing
investigation and was only informed of Sutardjianto's arrest on
Saturday afternoon.

"The arrest was so sudden," Sutiyoso said on Saturday.

He said he would seek the immediate release of Sutardjianto
from Salemba penitentiary and, instead, order the former West
Jakarta mayor be put under house arrest.

Sutiyoso refused to elaborate further on his decision to
request house arrest for the suspect.

He only said he would continue his fight against all forms of
collusion, corruption and nepotism (KKN) in the city
administration.

Reports said Sutardjianto was arrested after undergoing
intensive questioning over his alleged involvement in a land
scam. It is said he profited from the illegal Rp 2.6 billion sale
of two 1.9 hectare land plots belonging to the administration,
located separately at Meruya Selatan and Meruya Utara in West
Jakarta.

Head of West Jakarta prosecutor office Rusdy Thahir told
Kompas on Saturday Sutardjianto had failed to deliver money
resulting from the sales to the administration.

"The defendant even put Rp 250 million of the money in the
account of one his children, who is living overseas," he said.

Rusdy said Sutardjianto collected Rp 1.1 billion from selling
the city's 7,080 square meter plot to a man called Yanto Lukman,
and another Rp 600 million from the sale of 9,300 square meters
to a man identified as Wen Tjie Sing.

The suspect received another Rp 900 million after selling
3,500 square meters of administration property to scores of
people, Rusdy said.

Early judgement

Earlier, the city's reform team -- set up by Sutiyoso last
June to rid the administration of KKN practices -- cleared
Sutardjianto of involvement in the cases.

The reform team, led by Deputy Governor for Administrative
Affairs Abdul Kahfi, was established to meet the public's demand
for a purge of the bureaucracy, greater transparency and improved
public services.

On Sunday, journalists were disappointed when Sutardjianto
declined to clarify his side of the story.

"He just said he was sorry, but he could not meet you," Paino,
an official of the penitentiary, quoted the detainee as saying.

A source at the jail said Sutardjianto arrived there at 3:30
p.m. on Friday and was occupying a room with dimensions of six
square meters.

"He doesn't get special treatment, but his family provided him
with a mattress," the source said, adding that his family had
visited him on Saturday morning.

Separately, Sutardjianto's lawyer Amir Nasution said on Sunday
that he would submit a request on Monday to Rusdy Thahir for his
client to be moved from the penitentiary and put under house
arrest.

The lawyer said Rusdy could request police watch over the
movements of his client, to avoid the possibility of the suspect
leaving the city. (ind/ylt)