Witness in Soeharto case dies

Witness in Soeharto case dies

JAKARTA (JP): A witness in former president Soeharto's alleged
graft trial, Dharmais foundation treasurer Brig. Gen. (ret)
Hedijanto, died from a brain hemorrhage on Monday morning after
undergoing surgery the previous evening. He was 73.

Hedijanto is survived by his wife, Nuk Setiowati, and five
children.

He was sworn in on July 14 at the Attorney General's Office
along with 12 other witnesses.

Separately, South Jakarta Police chief Sr. Spt. Edward
Aritonang said he would deploy more policemen at the South
Jakarta District Court if the trial of the former strongman took
place there.

Speaking after a coordination meeting with officials from the
court, the Jakarta High Court, the South Jakarta Prosecutor's
Office, district mayor Abdul Mufti and the district's military
command officers, Aritonang said his office would take full
responsibility for the trial's security.

"We deployed policemen here when the court received the
dossiers of Soeharto's case on July 3 from the prosecutors," he
said.

Head of the South Jakarta District Court Lalu Mariyun said the
panel of judges were studying the case and had yet to decide the
exact time and venue for the initial hearing, hinting that it
would be by the end of the month.

Soeharto's lawyer, Juan Felix Tampubolon, was not allowed by
the court's officials to attend the meeting. (bby)