Two justices go on trial for 'receiving' bribes
Two justices go on trial for 'receiving' bribes
JAKARTA (JP): Two Supreme Court justices went on trial at the
Central Jakarta District Court on Thursday for allegedly
receiving Rp 50 million in bribes each.
Defendants Supraptini Sutarto and Marnis Kahar were accused of
receiving the money from a middleman named Endin Wahyudin in
order to win a land dispute case in 1998.
The two defendants are being tried separately. Supraptini's
case is handled by Surung Aritonang, while the other is handled
by prosecutor Soejitno.
According to the prosecutors, Endin claims that he, along with
his friend Mesri Pasaribu, met Supraptini and Marnis twice at
their office in Central Jakarta, sometime between October 1998
and December 1998.
According to the indictments, the meeting was based on the
suggestion of another justice, M. Yahya Harahap, as the latter
was presiding a hearing over the case, while Supraptini and
Marnis were member justices.
"At their first meeting, Endin and Mesri offered Marnis Rp 50
million as a bribe. The defendant, however, refused, saying that
she had not talked to Yahya about the matter," Soejitno told the
court session presided over by Judge Rusdi As'ad.
"Later on, the defendant accepted the money," Soejitno
charged.
Supraptini's trial was presided over by judge Rusdi.
Yahya, who has retired from the Supreme Court, is being tried
at the West Jakarta District Court over the same case. He was
indicted on Tuesday for receiving Rp 96 million in bribes.
The case came to surface after Endin, who is a witness under
the witness protection program run by the Attorney General's
Office and the Joint Anticorruption Team (TGPTPK), reported the
bribery case to the chairman of TGPTPK Adi Andojo Soetjipto --
who is also a former Supreme Court justice.
Endin claimed he gave the bribes on behalf of Aminah, who was
involved in a land dispute over a 17,000-square-meter plot of
land in Bandung against Soenanta Soemali, alias Lie Sun Nam.
The Supreme Court ruled against Soenanta Soemali in December
1998. But Soenanta filed an objection against the verdict at the
Bandung District Court. The district court agreed and as a
result, the Supreme Court's verdict on the disputed land could
not be executed.
Soejitno and Surung charged Marnis and Supraptini with
violating Article 28 of Anticorruption Law No. 3/1971 and Article
420 of the Criminal Code and Law No. 31/1999. If found guilty,
they could be sentenced to between 20 years and life in prison.
Defense lawyers, O.C Kaligis and Jhon H. Waliry, said that the
court must dismiss the cases as "the charges had no legal basis."
"The prosecutors have charged our clients for violating, among
others, Law No. 31/1999, while the alleged corruption case
occurred before the law became effective in November 1999.
"As the law doesn't recognize a retroactive principle, we ask
the court to dismiss the case," Kaligis told the court.
Kaligis further said that as Endin was currently facing trial
at the Central Jakarta District Court for slander and defamation
of the justices, the court must postpone the trial over the
justices, pending the court's verdict on Endin's trial.
The trials were adjourned until Aug. 2 to hear the response of
prosecutors. (tso)