Sutiyoso cooperates with police in fraud case
Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The police questioned Governor Sutiyoso on Tuesday as a witness in the alleged embezzlement of Rp 4.2 billion in flood relief funds by the Institute of Civic Education (ICE) on Indonesia
Sutiyoso was accorded special treatment by the police, being questioned in the waiting room of Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Makbul Patmanagara, rather than in the interrogation room in which most witnesses find themselves.
The police had planned to question Sutiyoso at his office in City Hall, but Sutiyoso said he preferred to be questioned at the police headquarters.
Although the law says that being a witness in a criminal case is an obligation not a choice, police spokesman Sr. Comr. Anton Bachrul Alam, who had said it was not necessary for Sutiyoso to visit police headquarters, expressed gratitude for Sutiyoso's willingness to be questioned.
"We thank God that he (Sutiyoso), as the governor, is willing to appear at police headquarters to be questioned by our investigators. It is an honor for us and we appreciate it," Anton said.
Sutiyoso and the city police have a "good relationship", and several times the police have approached the administration for extra funds for equipment, including a global positioning system and 86 cars.
Last week the administration approved the release of Rp 3 billion for bomb detectors.
The total budget from the city administration for the police this year is Rp 20 billion.
The police asked the governor 41 questions on Tuesday and Sutiyoso only needed about an hour and a half to answer them. The questioning reportedly went smoothly and the police did not make an issue out of Sutiyoso's decision to divert the flood-relief funds into an education fund managed by ICE on Indonesia.
The NGO claims to have disbursed Rp 600 million of the Rp 4.2 billion raised in March during a charity night for victims of the floods that swept through the city in January and February this year.
The 41 questions focused on the alleged misuse of the Rp 600 million and the banking interest earned on the rest of the money. The police have so far named the organization's treasurer, Hendrawan, a suspect in the case.
"My assumption is that there are irregularities in the use of the funds, which Hendrawan could not explain to the police. But further investigation is still needed to prove this," Jakarta Police chief Makbul said.
Makbul said Hendrawan could not explain how the Rp 600 million was used. Hendrawan is in police detention, while ICE on Indonesia chairwoman Irma Hutabarat has not been named a suspect and remains free.
During questioning, Sutiyoso said the city administration had released Rp 274 billion to help the flood victims.
But many flood victims claim to have received no aid from the administration.