Three justices named in bribery case

Three justices named in bribery case

JAKARTA (JP): The government-appointed Joint Team to Eradicate
Corruption named on Monday three justices of the Supreme Court as
suspects in a bribery case, paving the way for the first ever
trial against the country's top judges on charges of corruption.

Team chairman Adi Andojo Sutjipto, a former justice, named
them as M. Yahya Harahap, who has now retired from the Supreme
Court, and Supraptini Sutarto and Marnis Kahar, both active
justices.

The three were members of a panel of justices who allegedly
accepted bribes while handling a land dispute in 1998, Adi said.

The case came to light after a witness in the land dispute
came forward claiming to have paid the three justices Rp 196
million (US$24,000) to influence their decisions.

Adi's team has been given overriding powers to deal with the
rampant corruption in the legal system.

At the recommendation of the team, the man who reported the
bribery is already in the Attorney General's Office witness
protection program and his name cannot be disclosed to the
public.

"The three justices have denied receiving any bribe, but we
have found enough incriminating evidence to build a case against
them," Adi said, adding that the case would soon be filed with
the Central Jakarta District Court.

"The money is not much, but this is a sore in our legal system
which should be amputated. We're going to investigate bribery
cases in the judicial system to the roots," he said.

Adi said he would ask Attorney General Marzuki Darusman to
request that the Supreme Court suspend the two active justices to
facilitate the trial.

Adi's team, set up by Marzuki and inducted by President
Abdurrahman Wahid, is an embryo of the Commission to Eradicate
Corruption, mandated by the 1999 Antigraft Law, which must be
established before August next year.

The team comprises state prosecutors, police officers,
officials of the central bank and other government institutions
as well as activists and experts from non-governmental
organizations.

The team has made it a priority to eradicate corruption in the
judicial system, including the Supreme Court and district courts.

The team has the power to conduct investigations and to
prosecute suspects. It also can seize evidence and tap telephone
conversations.

The case concerns 17,000 square meters of land in the West
Java capital of Bandung disputed between two parties -- heirs to
a certain Aksan as plaintiffs and Sunata Sumali alias Sunanham as
defendant.

The witness has testified that he paid Justice Harahap Rp 96
million in cash delivered to his residence, and Rp 50 million
each to Supraptini and Marnis, delivered to their offices, in
November 1998, when the case was first heard by the Supreme
Court.

The case has experienced changing fortune. At the first
hearing, the panel of justices led by Harahap ruled in favor of
the defendant. The case, however, went into a second hearing,
with a different panel of justices, and the defendant lost.

The case, according to Adi, is now under judicial review by
the Supreme Court.

Adi said the Attorney General's Office has agreed to waive the
right to prosecute witnesses who bribed officers of the court in
return for their cooperation.

"Judges are experts in concealing evidence of wrongdoing. So,
we encourage people who have bribed judges to come forward," he
said. (bby)