Teti files lawsuit against House

Teti files lawsuit against House

JAKARTA (JP): Teti Nursetiati, wife of suspect of the Rp 35
billion (US$3.8 million) State Logistics Agency (Bulog) scandal,
Alip Agung Suwondo, filed a lawsuit against House of
Representatives Speaker Akbar Tandjung and the House's special
committee on Tuesday.

The lawsuit was filed with the South Jakarta District Court.

Teti's lawyer, Denny Azani B. Latief, said the committee which
was set to investigate the case had acted against the law while
questioning his client.

"The committee has denied our client's right to be accompanied
by lawyers during questioning," Denny told reporters at the
National Police Headquarters before reporting the case to the
police.

Teti also filed a lawsuit against Akbar because instead of
giving the committee a warning over their action, Akbar actually
supported the committee's decision.

"The committee also acted as if our client had committed a
crime," Denny said, accusing the committee of having tarnished
Teti's name by saying that his client had been distributing money
to some ministers.

In the lawsuit, Teti demands that the committee be declared to
have been acting against the law. She also demands that the
committee also rehabilitate Teti's name by placing ads in the
media and pay a Rp 100 compensation fee to Teti.

The committee suspended the questioning of Suwondo's wife
earlier this month since she refused to give any statement before
the committee without the presence of her lawyers.

Teti's lawyers and the committee have also engaged in nasty
debate, both sides defending their belief on whether Teti should
be accompanied by her lawyers or not.

The scandal, initially disclosed by the media in May, revolves
around the disbursement of Rp 35 billion (US$4.2 million) from
Bulog's employee-owned Yanatera foundation last January,
allegedly at the behest of President Abdurrahman Wahid. (jaw)