Witnesses say judge paid Rp 550m in land dispute case
Witnesses say judge paid Rp 550m in land dispute case
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Witnesses told the Central Jakarta District Court on Wednesday that they had bribed the defendant, now a Jakarta High Court judge, to rule in their favor in a land dispute.
Toriq Bayasur, the internal bureau chief of PT Surabaya Industrial Estate Rungkut (PT SIER), testified to having handed over defendant Fauzatulo Zendrato two signed slips authorizing a total of Rp 550 million to be withdrawn from his bank account. At the time, the defendant was the official in charge of the appeals division of the Supreme Court.
Fauzatulo is being prosecuted for allegedly receiving Rp 550 million in bribes from PT SIER for his services in making arrangements with the Supreme Court judges who were to hear the case. The company won its case two years ago.
Toriq told the court that he, along with the late Sudarno, the company's lawyer, met with Fauzatulo at the Bank Dagang Negara branch on Jl. MH Thamrin, Central Jakarta, to fill in two bank withdrawal slips for Rp 150 million and Rp 400 million respectively. They handed the slips to the defendant as a payment for arranging matters with the judges who were to hear the case.
"The defendant promised us that he would deliver the money to the designated judges," Toriq said.
He said Fauzatulo had requested that the money not be transferred directly to his account but rather delivered through Toriq's account in June 1999.
Meanwhile, PT SIER president director Gawi Oemar confirmed that he had authorized the process after discussing it at a meeting of the company's shareholders.
"The reason we allocated this sum of money was to settle the land dispute," Gawi said at the hearing.
"I didn't witness the handover of the money and there was no receipt. I only relied on Torig and the late Sudarno's report that the money had been delivered," he added.
At the end of the hearing, Fauzatulo confirmed that the testimony of the witnesses was true.
"I did receive the withdrawal slips," he told presiding judge Bambang Sriwulan.
Fauzatulo is accused of violating the Anticorruption Law and Article 418 of the Criminal Code, which forbid state officials from receiving gifts.