`Tempo' news reporter questioned for 11 hours
`Tempo' news reporter questioned for 11 hours
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
It took Jakarta Police investigators about 11 hours on Saturday
to complete their questioning of Tempo weekly reporter Ahmad
Taufik as a suspect in a defamation complaint filed by
businessman Tomy Winata.
"The computer (used to take Taufik's statement) hung from time
to time, slowing down the questioning," Taufik's lawyer Darwin
Aritonang told detik.com late on Saturday after the questioning.
The investigators, led by Adj. Sr. Comr. Tito Karnavian, asked
Taufik 60 questions. The questions centered around the sources of
an article run by the weekly in its March 3-9 edition, which
hinted at a role by Tomy in a devastating fire at the Tanah Abang
market in February.
Aritonang said his client also was asked about the existence
of an alleged proposal to renovate Tanah Abang market signed by
Tomy and dating from long before the fire.
Following the publication of the article, about 200 supporters
of Tomy, who owns the Artha Graha Group, attacked the Tempo
office and assaulted chief editor Bambang Harymurti and several
other journalists, including Taufik.
The police have charged five people allegedly involved in the
attack with Articles 335 and 352 of the Criminal Code on the use
of force to perpetrate violence against others and on minor
assault respectively. The articles carry maximum punishments of
one year and three months in prison, respectively.
The attack made headlines and Tomy was invited to a hearing
with the House of Representatives. The businessman later filed a
defamation complaint against Tempo and the police immediately
named Bambang Harymurti as a suspect. Taufik was later named a
suspect as well.
Bambang was earlier charged under articles 310 of Criminal
Code on defamation and article 311 on libel, which carry maximum
punishments of nine months and four years in prison,
respectively.
The police later stated that he also violated Article 5(1) of
the press law, on the media's obligation to respect religious
norms and public decency, as well as to adhere to the principle
of presumption of innocence. The article carries a maximum
punishment of Rp 500 million (US$56,179) in fines.
Taufik was charged with the same three articles.
The police have questioned several Tempo reporters as
witnesses in the case. Tomy, however, who is known to have ties
with the military, has yet to be questioned.
Taufik told reporters that the police asked him three times
whether he himself had seen Tomy's name on the alleged proposal
to renovate Tanah Abang market.
TempoNewsRoom reported that the journalist's response to the
question was: "According to my source, Tomy's name was on it."
Taufik also said he refused to identify the source, only
saying the source "is Indonesian but not from Tomy's circle".