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)