Verdict on Bob Hasan to be handed down on Friday

JAKARTA (JP): The Central Jakarta District Court will hand down the verdict for timber tycoon Muhamad Bob Hasan, a defendant in the US$244 million fraudulent aerial mapping project, next Friday.

Presiding judge Soebardi said on Friday the verdict would be presented in the next session as the prosecutors said they would not prepare a counter statement against the lawyers' defense.

Earlier in the day, the defense team, led by Agustinus Hutajulu, read the defense statement, saying that their client was innocent and asked the court to free him from all charges.

In the previous hearing, prosecutors had asked the district court to sentence the 70-year old Hasan to eight years in jail and requested the court to order the defendant to return the ill- gotten money to the state and fine him Rp 30 million.

However, in the 218-page defense statement signed by four lawyers it stated that the prosecutors have failed to prove their indictment.

"Therefore, we request the panel of judges to declare the defendant innocent, exonerate him of all charges and restore his name, Hutajulu said.

After he finished reading the defense, judge Soebardi postponed the hearing for an hour and asked prosecutors whether or not they would prepare a counter statement.

"We stick by our demands, we will not file a counter statement," chief prosecutor Arnold Angkouw said.

When Soebardi then asked the lawyers' for their response, Hutajulu said the lawyers would also stick to their defense.

"So, the decision rests on the panel of judges," Soebardi said, before adjourning the session until next Friday. (01)